).— 


Tni3  BGDK.  MLONG5 


TO 


'TTrW^ 


^ 


THL  ROAD  TO  OZ 


- 


^^ss 


CALLING  ON  JACK  PUMPKINHEAD 
See  Chapter  16 


I'HE  Road  to  Oz 


BY 


L.  FRANK  BAUM 

AUTHOR    OF   THE    LAND   OF   OZ.    OZMA    OF   OZ.    DOROTHY 
AND   THE   WIZARD    IN    OZ.  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

JOHN  R.  NEILL 


the  Reilly  &  Lee  Co. 

Chicago 


i'uteaao  tempo 


To  T\x  Y\KST   G 


RAND60N 


3o%njt^n!on53^uwo 


i-\n^4i€Z<^ 


im, 


O  MY  READERS:  Well,  my  dears,  here  is 
what  you  have  asked  for:  another  "Oz  Book*' 
about  Dorothy's  strange  adventures.  Toto  is 
in  this  story,  because  you  wanted  him  to  be 
there,  and  many  other  characters  which  you  will  recognize  are 
in  the  story,  too.  Indeed,  the  wishes  of  my  little  correspon- 
dents have  been  considered  as  carefully  as  possible,  and  if  the 
story  is  not  exactly  as  you  would  have  written  it  yourselves, 
you  must  remember  that  a  story  has  to  be  a  story  before  it  can 
be  written  down,  and  the  writer  cannot  change  it  much  with- 
out spoiling  it. 

In  the  preface  to  "Dorothy  and  the  Wizard  in  Oz"  I  said 
I  would  like  to  write  some  stories  that  were  not  "Oz"  stories, 
because  I  thought  I  had  written  about  Oz  long  enough;  but 
since  that  volume  was  published  I  have  been  fairly  deluged 
with  letters  from  children  imploring  me  to  "write  more  about 
Dorothy,"  and  "more  about  Oz,"  and  since  I  write  only  to 
please  the  children  I  shall  try  to  respect  their  wishes. 

There  are  some  new  characters  in  this  book  that  ought  to 
win  your  love.  I'm  very  fond  of  the  shaggy  man  myself,  and 
I  think  you  will   like   him,  too.      As  for  Polychrome — the 


n 


^^ 


Rainbow's  Daughter — and  stupid  little  Button-Bright,  they 
seem  to  have  brought  a  new  element  of  fun  into  these  Oz 
stories,  and  I  am  glad  I  discovered  them.  Yet  I  am  anxious 
to  have  you  write  and  tell  me  how  you  like  them. 

Since  this  book  was  written  I  have  received  some  very 
remarkable  news  from  The  Land  of  Oz,  which  has  greatly  as- 
tonished me.  I  believe  it  will  astonish  you,  too,  my  dears, 
when  you  hear  it.  But  it  is  such  a  long  and  exciting  story 
that  it  must  be  saved  for  another  book — and  perhaps  that 
book  will  be  the  last  story  that  will  ever  be  told  about  the 
Land  of  Oz. 


L  Frank  Baum. 


Coronadot  /pop. 


LIST  OF  CHAPTERS 

CHAPTER 

1  The  Way  to  BuTTERnELD 

2  Dorothy  Meets  Button-Bright 

3  A  Queer  Village  .       c       .       » 

4  King  Dox       .,»,... 

5  The  Rainbow's  Daughter 

6  The  City  of  Beasts         -       ,       .       . 

7  The  Shaggy  Man's  Transformation 

8  The  Musicker     ...<.. 
Facing  the  Scoodlers     .       .       .       - 
Escaping  the  Soup-Kettle     , 
Johnny  Doit  Does  It  .       .       . 
The  Deadly  Desert  Crossed 
The  Truth  Pond      >      ,       .      .      . 
TiK-ToK  and  Billina      .       .      .      . 
The  Emperor's  Tin  Castle  . 
Visiting  the  Pumpkin  Field 
The  Royal  Chariot  Arrives 
The  Emerald  City    .       .-       .       .       - 
The  Shaggy  Man's  Welcome 
Princess  Ozma  of  Oz       ,      .      , 
Dorothy  Receives  the  Guests 
Important  Arrivals        .       .      ,      . 
The  Grand  Banquet       r       ,      .       . 
The  Birthday  Celebration 


9 

lO 

1 1 

11 

H 

15 
16 

17 
18 

19 

20 
21 
22 

23 

24 


VKCn 


^ 


^€ 


mmM  nmnm 


"PLEASE,  miss,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  "can  you  tell  me  the 
road  to  Butterfield?' 

Dorothy  looked  him  over.  Yes,  he  was  shaggy,  all  right; 
but  there  was  a  twinkle  in  his  eye  that  seemed  pleasant. 

"Oh,  yes,"  she  replied;  "I  can  tell  you.  But  it  is  n't  this 
road  at  all." 

"No?" 

"You  cross  the  ten-acre  lot,  follow  the  lane  to  the  high- 
way, go  north  to  the  five  branches,  and  take  —  let  me  see  — " 

"To  be  sure,  miss;  see  as  far  as  Butterfield,  if  you  like," 
said  the  shaggy  man. 

13 


T  !i  e    Roa<f    to    O2. 

"You  take  the  branch  next  the  willow  stump,  I  b'lieve;  or 
else  the  branch  by  the  gopher  holes;  or  else " 

"Won't  any  of  'em  do,  miss'?" 

"  'Course  not.  Shaggy  Man.  You  must  take  the  right 
road  to  get  to  Butterfield." 

"And  is  that  the  one  by  the  gopher  stump,  or " 

"Dear  me  I"  cried  Dorothy;  "I  shall  have  to  show  you  the 
way;  you  're  so  stupid.  Wait  a  minute  till  I  run  in  the  house 
and  get  my  sunbonnet." 

The  shaggy  man  waited.  He  had  an  oat-straw  in  his 
mouth,  which  he  chewed  slowly  as  if  it  tasted  good;  but  it 
did  n't.  There  was  an  apple-tree  beside  the  house,  and  some 
apples  had  fallen  to  the  ground.  The  shaggy  man  thought 
they  would  taste  better  than  the  oat-straw,  so  he  walked  over 
to  get  some.  A  little  black  dog  with  bright  brown  eyes 
dashed  out  of  the  farm-house  and  ran  madly  toward  the 
shaggy  man,  who  had  already  picked  up  three  apples  and  put 
them  in  one  of  the  big  wide  pockets  of  his  shaggy  coat.  >  The 
little  dog  barked,  and  made  a  dive  for  the  shaggy  man's  leg; 
but  he  grabbed  the  dog  by  the  neck  and  put  it  in  his  big 
pocket  along  with  the  apples.  He  took  more  apples,  after- 
ward, for  many  were  on  the  ground;  and  each  one  that  he 
tossed  into  his  pocket  hit  the  little  dog  somewhere  upon  the 
head  or  back,  and  made  him  growl.  The  little  dog's  nam.e 
was  Toto,  and  he  was  sorry  he  had  been  put  in  the  shaggy 
man's  pocket. 


The   Way   to   Butterfield 


Pretty  soon  Dorothy  came  out  of  the  house  with  her  sun- 
bonnet,  and  she  called  out : 

"Come  on,  Shaggy  Man,  if  you  want  me  to  show  you  the 
road  to  Butterfield."  She  climbed  the  fence  into  the  ten- 
acre  lot  and  he  followed  her,  walking  slowly  and  stumbling 
over  the  little  hillocks  in  the  pasture  as  if  he  was  thinking  of 
something  else  and  did  not  notice  them. 

"My,  but  you  're  clumsy!"  said  the  little  girl.  "Are  your 
feet  tired"?" 

"No,  miss;  it's  my  whiskers;  they  tire  very  easily  this 
warm  weather,"  said  he.   "I  wish  it  would  snow;  don't  you*?" 

"  'Course  not,  Shaggy  Man,"  replied  Dorothy,  giving  him 
a  severe  look.     "If  it  snowed  in  August  it  would  spoil  the 

15 


The     Road     to     Oz 

corn  and  the  oats  and  the  wheat;  and  then  Uncle  Henry 
would  n't  have  any  crops;  and  that  would  make  him  poor; 
and " 

"Never  mind,"  said  the  shaggy  man.  "It  won't  snow,  I 
guess.     Is  this  the  lane^" 

"Yes,"  replied  Dorothy,  climbing  another  fence;  "I'll 
go  as  far  as  the  highway  with  you." 

"Thankee,  miss;  you  're  very  kind  for  your  size,  I  'm 
sure,"  said  he  gratefully. 

"It  is  n't  everyone  who  knows  the  road  to  Butterfield," 
Dorothy  remarked  as  she  tripped  along  the  lane;  "but  I  've 
driven  there  many  a  time  with  Uncle  Henry,  and  so  I  b'lieve 
I  could  find  it  blindfolded." 

"Don't  do  that,  miss,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  earnestly; 
"you  might  make  a  mistake," 

"I  won't,"  she  answered,  laughing.  "Here  's  the  high- 
way. Now,  it  's  the  second  —  no,  the  third  turn  to  the  left 
—  or  else  it  's  the  fourth.  Let  's  see.  The  first  one  is  by 
the  elm  tree;  and  the  second  is  by  the  gopher  holes;  and 
then " 

"Then  what?"  he  inquired,  putting  his  hands  in  his  coat 
pockets.  Toto  grabbed  a  finger  and  bit  it;  the  shaggy  man 
took  his  hand  out  of  that  pocket  quickly,  and  said  "Oh!" 

Dorothy  did  not  notice.  She  was  shading  her  eyes  from 
the  sun  with  her  arm,  looking  anxiously  down  the  road. 

16 


The  Way   to   Butterfield 

"Come  on,"  she  commanded.  "It 's  only  a  little  way  far- 
ther, so  I  may  as  well  show  you." 

After  a  while  they  came  to  the  place  where  five  roads 
branched  in  different  directions;  Dorothy  pointed  to  one,  and 
said: 

"That 's  it.  Shaggy  Man." 

*T  'm  much  obliged,  miss,"  he  said,  and  started  along  an- 
other road. 

"Not  that  one!"  she  cried;  "you  're  going  wrong." 

He  stopped. 

"I  thought  you  said  that  other  was  the  road  to  Butter- 
field,"  said  he,  running  his  fingers  through  his  shaggy  whis- 
kers in  a  puzzled  way. 
kio  It  IS. 

"But  I  don't  want  to  go  to  Butterfield,  miss." 

"You  don't?' 

"Of  course  not.  I  wanted  you  to  show  me  the  road,  so  I 
should  n't  go  there  by  mistake." 

"Oh!     Where  do  you  want  to  go  to,  then?' 

"I  'm  not  particular,  miss." 

This  answer  astonished  the  little  girl;  and  it  made  her 
provoked,  too,  to  think  she  had  taken  all  this  trouble  for  noth- 
ing. 

"There  are  a  good  many  roads  here,"  observed  the  shaggy 
man,    turning    slowly    around,    like    a    human    windmill. 

17 


The     Road     to     Oz 

* 'Seems  to  me  a  person  could  go  'most  anywhere,  from  this 
place." 

Dorothy  turned  around  too,  and  gazed  in  surprise.  There 
were  a  good  many  roads ;  more  than  she  had  ever  seen  before. 
She  tried  to  count  them,  knowing  there  ought  to  be  five ;  but 
when  she  had  counted  seventeen  she  grew  bewildered  and 
stopped,  for  the  roads  were  as  many  as  the  spokes  of  a  wheel 
and  ran  in  every  direction  from  the  place  where  they  stood; 
so  if  she  kept  on  counting  she  was  likely  to  count  some  of  the 
roads  twice. 

**Dear  me  I"  she  exclaimed.  "There  used  to  be  only  five 
roads,  highway  and  all.  And  now  —  why,  where  's  the  high- 
way. Shaggy  Man?'/ 

"Can't  say,  miss,"  he  responded,  sitting  down  upon  the 
ground  as  if  tired  with  standing.  "Was  n't  it  here  a  minute 
ago?" 

"I  thought  so,"  she  answered,  greatly  perplexed.  "And 
I  saw  the  gopher  holes,  too,  and  the  dead  stump;  but  they  're 
not  here  now.  These  roads  are  all  strange  —  and  what  a  lot 
of  them  there  are!     Where  do  you  suppose  they  all  go  to?" 

"Roads,"  observed  the  shaggy  man,  "don't  go  anywhere. 
They  stay  in  one  place,  so  folks  can  walk  on  them." 

He  put  his  hand  in  his  side-pocket  and  drew  out  an  apple 
—  quick,  before  Toto  could  bite  him  again.     The  little  dog 

18 


The  Way   to   Butterfield 

got  his  head  out  this  time  and  said  "Bow-wow  I"  so  loudly 
that  it  made  Dorothy  jump. 

"O  Totol"  she  cried;  "where  did  you  come  from^" 

"I  brought  him  along,"  said  the  shaggjy  man. 

"What  for?"  she  asked. 

"To  guard  these  apples  in  my  pocket,  miss,  so  no  one 
would  steal  them." 

With  one  hand  the  shaggy  man  held  the  apple,  which  he 
began  eating,  while  with  the  other  hand  he  pulled  Toto  out 
of  his  pocket  and  dropped  him  to  the  ground.  Of  course  Toto 
made  for  Dorothy  at  once,  barking  joyfully  at  his  release 
from  the  dark  pocket.  When  the  child  had  patted  his  head 
lovingly,  he  sat  down  before  her,  his  red  tongue  hanging  out 
one  side  of  his  mouth,  and  looked  up  into  her  face  with  his 
bright  brown  eyes,  as  if  asking  her  what  they  should  do  next. 

Dorothy  did  n't  know.  She  looked  around  her  anxious- 
ly for  some  familiar  landmark;  but  everything  was  strange. 
Between  the  branches  of  the  many  roads  were  green  meadows 
and  a  few  shrubs  and  trees,  but  she  could  n't  see  anywhere  the 
farm-house  from  which  she  had  just  come,  or  anything  she 
had  ever  seen  before  —  except  the  shaggy  man  and  Toto. 

Besides  this,  she  had  turned  around  and  around  so  many 
times,  trying  to  find  out  where  she  was,  that  now  she  could 
n't  even  tell  which  direction  the  farm-house  ought  to  be  in; 
and  this  began  to  worry  her  and  make  her  feel  anxious. 

19 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"I  *m  'fraid,  Shaggy  Man,"  she  said,  with  a  sigh,  "that 
we 're  lost!" 

"That  's  nothing  to  be  afraid  of,"  he  replied,  throwing 
away  the  core  of  his  apple  and  beginning  to  eat  another  one. 
"Each  of  these  roads  must  lead  somewhere,  or  it  would  n't  be 
here.     So  what  does  it  matter?" 

"I  want  to  go  home  again,"  she  said. 

"Well,  why  don't  you?"  said  he. 

"I  don't  know  which  road  to  take." 

"That  is  too  bad,"  he  said,  shaking  his  shaggy  head 
gravely.  "I  wish  I  could  help  you;  but  I  can't.  I 'ma  stranger 
in  these  parts." 

"Seems  as  if  I  were,  too,"  she  said,  sitting  down  beside 
him.  "It 's  funny.  A  few  minutes  ago  I  was  home,  and  I  just 
came  to  show  you  the  way  to  Butterfield " 

"So  I  should  n't  make  a  mistake  and  go  there " 

"And  now  I  'm  lost  myself  and  don't  now  how  to  get 
home!" 

"Have  an  apple,"  suggested  the  shaggy  man,  handing 
her  one  with  pretty  red  cheeks. 

"I  'm  not  hungry,"  said  Dorothy,  pushing  it  away, 

"But  you  may  be,  to-morrow;  then  you  '11  be  sorry  you 
did  n't  eat  the  apple,"  said  he. 

"If  I  am,  I  '11  eat  the  apple  then,"  promised  Dorothy. 

"Perhaps  there  won't  be  any  apple  then,"  he  returned,  be- 

20 


The   Way   to   Butterfieid 

ginning  to  eat  the  red-cheeked  one  himself.  "Dogs  some- 
times can  find  their  way  home  better  than  people,"  he  went 
on;  'perhaps  your  dog  can  lead  you  back  to  the  farm." 

"Will  you,  Toto?'  asked  Dorothy. 

Toto  wagged  his  tail  vigorously. 

"All  right,"  said  the  girl;  "let  's  go  home." 

Toto  looked  around  a  minute,  and  dashed  up  one  of  the 
roads. 

"Good-bye,  Shaggy  Man,"  called  Doroth5%  and  ran  after 
Toto.  The  little  dog  pranced  briskly  along  for  some  dis- 
tance; when  he  turned  around  and  looked  at  his  mistress 
questioningly. 

"Oh,  don't  'spect  me  to  tell  you  anything;  I  don't  know 
the  way,"  she  said.     "You  '11  have  to  find  it  yourself." 

But  Toto  could  n't.  He  wagged  his  tail,  and  sneezed, 
and  shook  his  ears,  and  trotted  back  where  they  had  left  the 
shaggy  man.  From  here  he  started  along  another  road;  then 
came  back  and  tried  another ;  but  each  time  he  found  the 
way  strange  and  decided  it  would  not  take  them  to  the  farm 
house.  Finally,  when  Dorothy  had  begun  to  tire  with  chas- 
ing after  him,  Toto  sat  down  panting  beside  the  shaggy  man 
and  gave  up. 

Dorothy  sat  down,  too,  very  thoughtful.  The  little  girl 
had  encountered  some  queer  adventures  since  she  came  to  live 
at  the  farm;  but  this  was  the  queerest  of  them  all.    To  get 

21 


The     Road     to     Oz 


lost  in  fifteen  minutes,  so  near  to  her  home  and  in  the  unro- 
mantic  State  of  Kansas,  was  an  experience  that  fairly  bewild- 
KTcd  her. 

"Will  your  folks  worry?"  asked  the  shaggy  man,  his  eyes 
twinkling  in  a  pleasant  way. 

"I  s'pose  so,"  answered  Dorothy,  with  a  sigh.  "Uncle 
Henry  says  there  's  always  something  happening  to  me;  but 
I  've  always  come  home  safe  at  the  last.  So  perhaps  he  '11  take 
comfort  and  think  I  '11  come  home  safe  this  time." 

*I  'm  sure  you  will,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  smilingly  nod- 
ding at  her.  "Good  little  girls  never  come  to  any  harm,  you 
know.  For  my  part,  I  'm  good,  too;  so  nothing  ever  hurts 
me. 

Dorothy  looked  at  him  curiously.  His  clothes  were 
shaggy,  his  boots  were  shaggy  and  full  of  holes,  and  his  hair 
and  whiskers  were  shaggy.  But  his  smile  was  sweet  and  his 
eyes  were  kind. 

"Why  did  n't  you  want  to  go  to  Butterfield?"  she  asked. 

"Because  a  man  lives  there  who  owes  me  fifteen  cents, 
and  if  I  went  to  Butterfield  and  he  saw  me  he  'd  want  to  pay 
me  the  money.     I  don't  want  money,  my  dear." 

"Why  not?"  she  inquired. 

"Money,"  declared  the  shaggy  man,  "makes  people  proud 
and  haughty;  I  don't  want  to  be  proud  and  haughty.     All  J 

22 


*THIS.  MY  DEAR.  IS  THE  WONDERFUL  LOVE  MAGNET-- 


n 


The     Road     to     Oz 

want  is  to  have  people  love  me ;  and  as  long  as  I  own  the  Love 
Magnet  everyone  I  meet  is  sure  to  love  me  dearly." 

"The  Love  Magnet !     Why,  what 's  that?" 
"I  '11  show  you,  if  you  won't  tell  anyone,"  he  answered,  in 
a  low,  mysterious  voice. 

"There  is  n't  any  one  to  tell,  'cept  Toto,"  said  the  girl. 

The  shaggy  man  searched  in  one  pocket,  carefully;  and 
in  another  pocket;  and  in  a  third.  At  last  he  drew  out  a 
small  parcel  wrapped  in  crumpled  paper  and  tied  with  a  cot- 
ton string.  He  unwound  the  string,  opened  the  parcel,  and 
took  out  a  bit  of  metal  shaped  like  a  horseshoe.  It  was  dull 
and  brown,  and  not  very  pretty. 

"This,  my  dear,"  said  he,  impressively,  "is  the  wonderful 
Love  Magnet.  It  was  given  me  by  an  Eskimo  in  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  —  where  there  are  no  sandwiches  at  all  —  and 
as  long  as  I  carry  it  every  living  thing  I  meet  will  love  me 
dearly." 

"Why  did  n't  the  Eskimo  keep  it?"  she  asked,  looking  at 
the  Magnet  with  interest. 

"He  got  tired  being  loved  and  longed  for  some  one  to 
hate  him.  So  he  gave  me  the  Magnet  and  the  very  next  day 
a  grizzly  bear  ate  him." 

"Was  n't  he  sorry  then?"  she  inquired. 

"He  did  n't  say,"  replied  the  shaggy  man,  wrapping  and 
tying  the  Love  Magnet  with  great  care  and  putting  it  away 

24 


The   Way   to   Butterfield 

in  another  pocket.  "But  the  bear  did  n't  seem  sorry  a  bit," 
he  added. 

"Did  you  know  the  bear*?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"Yes;  we  used  to  play  ball  together  in  the  Caviar  Is- 
lands.   The  bear  loved  me  because  I  had  the  Love  Magnet. 


I  could  n't  blame  him  for  eating  the  Eskimo,  because  it  was 
his  nature  to  do  so." 

"Once,"  said  Dorothy,  "I  knew  a  Hungry  Tiger  who 
longed  to  eat  fat  babies,  because  it  was  his  nature  to ;  but  he 
never  ate  any  because  he  had  a  Conscience." 

"This  bear,"  replied  the  shaggy  man,  with  a  sigh,  "had 
no  Conscience,  you  see.'* 

2^ 


The     Road     to     Oz 

The  shaggy  man  sat  silent  for  several  minutes,  apparent- 
ly considering  the  cases  of  the  bear  and  the  tiger,  while  Toto 
watched  him  with  an  air  of  great  interest.  The  little  dog  was 
doubtless  thinking  of  his  ride  in  the  shaggy  man's  pocket  and 
planning  to  keep  out  of  reach  in  the  future. 

At  last  the  shaggy  man  turned  and  inquired,  "What 's 
your  name,  little  girl?" 

"My  name  's  Dorothy,"  said  she,  jumping  up  again,  "but 
what  are  we  going  to  do'?  We  can't  stay  here  forever,  you 
know." 

"Let 's  take  the  seventh  road,"  he  suggested.  "Seven  is 
a  lucky  number  for  little  girls  named  Dorothy." 

"The  seventh  from  where  T' 

"From  where  you  begin  to  count." 

So  she  counted  seven  roads,  and  the  seventh  looked  just 
like  all  the  others;  but  the  shaggy  man  got  up  from  the 
ground  where  he  had  been  sitting  and  started  down  this  road 
as  'if  sure  it  was  the  best  way  to  go;  and  Dorothy  and  Toto 
followed  him. 


36 


.JU 


THE  seventh  road  was  a  good  road,  and  curved  this  way  and 
that  —  winding  through  green  meadows  and  fields  covered 
with  daisies  and  buttercups  and  past  groups  of  shady  trees. 
There  were  no  houses  of  any  sort  to  be  seen,  and  for  some  dis- 
tance they  met  with  no  living^  creature  at  all. 

Dorothy  began  to  fear  they  were  getting  a  good  way  from 
the  farm-house,  since  here  everything  was  strange  to  her ;  but 
it  would  do  no  good  at  all  to  go  back  where  the  other  roads 
all  met,  because  the  next  one  they  chose  might  lead  her  just 
as  far  from  home. 

She  kept  on  beside  the  shaggy  man,  who  whistled  cheer= 

'^7 


The     Road     to     Oz 


ful  tunes  to  beguile  the  journey,  until  by-and-by  they  fol- 
lowed a  turn  in  the  road  and  saw  before  them  a  big  chestnut 
tree  making  a  shady  spot  over  the  highway.  In  the 
shade  sat  a  little  boy  dressed  in  sailor  clothes,  who  was  dig- 
ging a  hole  in  the  earth  with  a  bit  of  wood.  He  must  have 
been  digging  some  time,  because  the  hole  was  already  big 
enough  to  drop  a  foot-ball  into. 

Dorothy  and  Toto  and  the  shaggy  man  came  to  a  halt  be- 
fore the  little  boy,  who  kept  on  digging  in  a  sober  and  persis- 
tent fashion. 

"Who  are  you?"  asked  the  girl. 

He  looked  up  at  her  calmly.  His  face  was  round  and 
chubby  and  his  eyes  were  big,  blue,  and  earnest. 

"I  'm  Button-Bright,"  said  he. 

**But  what 's  you  real  name?"  she  inquired. 

"Button-Bright." 

"That  is  n't  a  really-truly  name  I"  she  exclaimed. 

"Is  n't  it?"  he  asked,  still  digging. 

"'Course  not.  It 's  just  a  —  a  thing  to  call  you  by.  You 
must  have  a  name." 

"Must  I?" 

"To  be  sure.    What  does  your  mamma  call  you?*' 

He  paused  in  his  digging  and  tried  to  think. 

"Papa  always  said  I  was  bright  as  a  button;  so  mamma 
always  called  me  Button-Bright,"  he  said. 

28 


Dorothy  Meets  Button-Bright 

"What  is  your  papa's  name?" 

"Just  Papa." 

"What  else?" 

"Don't  know." 

"Never  mind,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  smiling.  "We  '11 
call  the  boy  Button-Bright,  as  his  mamma  does.  That  name 
is  as  good  as  any,  and  better  than  some." 

Dorothy  watched  the  boy  dig. 

"Where  do  you  live?"  she  asked. 

"Don't  know,"  was  the  reply. 

"How  did  you  come  here?" 

"Don't  know,"  he  said  again. 

"Don't  you  know  where  you  came  from?" 

"No,"  said  he. 

"Why,  he  must  be  lost,"  she  said  to  the  shaggy  man.  She 
turned  to  the  boy  once  more. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  she  inquired. 

"Dig,"  said  he. 

"But  you  can't  dig  forever;  and  what  are  you  going  to  do 
then?"  she  persisted, 

"Don't  know,"  said  the  boy. 

"But  you  must  know  something^'  declared  Dorothy,  get- 
ting provoked. 

"Must  I?"  he  asked,  looking  up  in  surprise. 

"Of  course  you  must." 

29 


fhe     Road     to     Oz 


"What  must  I  know?" 

"What 's  going  to  become  of  you,  for  one  thing,"  she  an- 
swered. 

"Do  you  know  what 's  going  to  become  of  me'?"  he  asked. 

"Not  —  not  'zactly,"  she  admitted. 

"Do  you  know  what 's  going  to  become  of  you?''  he  con- 
tinued, earnestly. 


"I  can't  say  I  do,"  replied  Dorothy,  remembering  her  pres- 
ent difficulties. 

The  shaggy  man  laughed. 

"No  one  knows  everything,  Dorothy,"  he  said. 

"But  Button-Bright  does  n't  seem  to  know  <3;^2jthing,"  she 
declared.     "Do  you,  Button-Bright*?" 

30 


Dorothy  Meets  Button-Bright 

He  shook  his  head,  which  had  pretty  curls  all  over  it,  and 
replied  with  perfect  calmness: 

"Don't  know." 

Never  before  had  Dorothy  met  with  any  one  who  could 
give  her  so  little  information.  The  boy  was  evidently  lost, 
and  his  people  would  be  sure  to  worry  about  him.  He  seemed 
two  or  three  years  younger  than  Dorothy,  and  was  prettily 
dressed,  as  if  some  one  loved  him  dearly  and  took  much  pains 
to  make  him  look  well.  How,  then,  did  he  come  to  be  in  this 
lonely  road?  she  wondered. 

Near  Button-Bright,  on  the  ground,  lay  a  sailor  hat  with 
a  gilt  anchor  on  the  band.  His  sailor  trousers  were  long  and 
wide  at  the  bottom,  and  the  broad  collar  of  his  blouse  had 
gold  anchors  sewed  on  its  corners.  The  boy  was  still  digging 
at  his  hole. 

"Have  you  ever  been  to  sea?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"To  see  what*?"  answered  Button-Bright. 

"I  mean  have  you  ever  been  where  there  's  water?" 

"Yes,"  said  Button-Bright;  "there  's  a  well  in  our  back 
yard." 

"You  don't  understand,"  cried  Dorothy.  "I  mean,  have 
you  ever  been  on  a  big  ship  floating  on  a  big  ocean?" 

"Don't  know,"  said  he. 

"Then  why  do  you  wear  sailor  clothes?" 

"Don't  know,"  he  answered,  again. 

31 


The     Road     to     Oz 

Dorothy  was  in  despair. 

"You  're  just  awful  stupid,  Button-Bright,"  she  said. 

"Am  IT  he  asked. 

"Yes,  you  are." 

"Why?"  looking  up  at  her  with  big  eyes. 

She  was  going  to  say:  "Don't  know,"  but  stopped  her- 
self in  time. 

"That 's  for  you  to  answer,"  she  replied. 

"It  's  no  use  asking  Button-Bright  questions,"  said  the 
shaggy  man,  who  had  been  eating  another  apple;  "but  some 
one  ought  to  take  care  of  the  poor  little  chap,  don't  you  think? 
So  he  'd  better  come  along  with  us." 

Toto  had  been  looking  with  great  curiosity  into  the  hole 
which  the  boy  was  digging,  and  growing  more  and  more  ex- 
cited every  minute,  perhaps  thinking  that  Button-Bright  was 
after  some  wild  animal.  The  little  dog  began  barking  loudly 
and  jumped  into  the  hole  himself,  where  he  began  to  dig  with 
his  tiny  paws,  making  the  earth  fly  in  all  directions.  It  spat- 
tered over  the  boy.  Dorothy  seized  him  and  raised  him  to 
his  feet,  brushing  his  clothes  with  her  hand. 

"Stop  that,  Toto  I"  she  called.  "There  are  n't  any  mice 
or  woodchucks  in  that  hole,  so  don't  be  foolish." 

Toto  stopped,  sniffed  at  the  hole  suspiciously,  and  jumped 
out  of  it,  wagging  his  tail  as  if  he  had  done  something  import- 
ant. 

32 


Dorothy  Meets  Button-Bright 

"Well,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  "let 's  start  on,  or  we  won 't 
§;et  anywhere  before  night  comes." 

"Where  do  you  expect  to  get  to*?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"I  'm  like  Button-Bright;  I  don't  know.*'  answered  the 
shaggy  man,  with  a  laugh.  "But  I  *ve  lean.ed  from  long 
experience  that  every  road  leads  somewhere,  or  there  would 
n't  be  any  road;  so  it 's  likely  that  if  we  travel  long  enough, 
my  dear,  we  will  come  to  some  place  or  another  in  the  end. 
What  place  it  will  be  we  can't  even  guess  at  this  moment, 
but  we  're  sure  to  find  out  when  we  get  there." 

"Why,  yes,"  said  Dorothy;  "that  seems  reas'n'ble,  Shaggy 
Man." 


33 


BUTTON-BRIGHT  took  the  shac;gy  man's  hand  willingly; 
for  the  shaggy  man  had  the  Love  Magnet,  you  know,  which 
was  the  reason  Button-Bright  had  loved  him  at  once.  They 
started  on,  with  Dorothy  on  one  side,  and  Toto  on  the  other, 
the  little  part;,  trudging  along  more  cheerfully  than  you 
might  have  supposed.  The  girl  was  getting  used  to  queer  ad- 
ventures, which  interested  her  very  much.  Wherever  Doro- 
thy went  Toto  was  sure  to  go,  like  Mary's  little  lamb.  But- 
ton-Bright did  n't  seem  a  bit  afraid  or  worried  because  he 
was  lost,  and  the  shaggy  man  had  no  home,  perhaps,  and  was 
as  happy  in  one  place  as  in  another. 

34 


A    Queer    Village 

Before  long  they  saw  ahead  of  them  a  fine  big  arch  span- 
ning the  road,  and  when  they  came  nearer  they  found  that  the 
arch  was  beautifully  carved  and  decorated  with  rich  colors. 
A  row  of  peacocks  with  spread  tails  ran  along  the  top  of  it, 
and  all  the  feathers  were  gorgeously  painted.  In  the  center 
was  a  large  fox's  head,  and  the  fox  wore  a  shrewd  and  know- 
ing expression  and  had  large  spectacles  over  its  eyes  and  a 
small  golden  crown  with  shiny  points  on  top  of  its  head. 

While  the  travellers  were  looking  with  curiosity  at  this 
beautiful  arch  there  suddenly  marched  out  of  it  a  company 
of  soldiers  —  only  the  soldiers  were  all  foxes  dressed  in  uni- 
forms. They  wore  green  jackets  and  yellow  pantaloons,  and 
their  little  round  caps  and  their  high  boots  were  a  bright  red 
color.  Also  there  was  a  big  red  bow  tied  about  the  middle 
of  each  long,  bushy  tail.  Each  soldier  was  armed  with  a 
wooden  sword  having  an  edge  of  sharp  teeth  set  in  a  row,  and 
the  sight  of  these  teeth  at  first  caused  Dorothy  to  shudder. 

A  captain  marched  in  front  of  the  company  of  fox-sol- 
diers, his  uniform  embroidered  with  gold  braid  to  make  it 
handsomer  than  the  others. 

Almost  before  our  friends  realized  it  the  soldiers  had  sur- 
rounded them  on  all  sides,  and  the  captain  was  calling  out  in 
a  harsh  voice: 

"Surrender!    You  are  our  prisoners." 

''What 's  a  pris  'ner?'  asked  Button-Bright. 

35 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"A  prisoner  is  a  captive,"  replied  the  fox-captain,  strut- 
ting up  and  down  with  much  dignity. 

"What 's  a  captive?'  asked  Button-Bright. 

"You  're  one,"  said  the  captain. 

That  made  the  shaggy  man  laugh. 

"Good  afternoon,  captain,"  he  said,  bowing  politely  to 
all  the  foxes  and  very  low  to  their  commander.  "I  trust  you 
are  in  good  health,  and  that  your  families  are  all  well*?" 

The  fox-captain  looked  at  the  shaggy  man,  and  his  sharp 
features  grew  pleasant  and  smiling. 

"We  're  pretty  well,  thank  you,  Shaggy  Man,"  said  he; 
and  Dorothy  knew  that  the  Love  Magnet  was  working  and 
that  all  the  foxes  now  loved  the  shaggy  man  because  of  it. 
But  Toto  did  n't  know  this,  for  he  began  barking  angrily  and 
tried  to  bite  the  captain's  hairy  leg  where  it  showed  between 
his  red  boots  and  his  yellow  pantaloons. 

"Stop,  Toto!"  cried  the  little  girl,  seizing  the  dog  in  her 
arms.    "These  are  our  friends." 

"Why,  so  we  are!"  remarked  the  captain  in  tones  of  as- 
tonishment. "I  thought  at  first  we  were  enemies,  but  it  seems 
you  are  friends,  instead.  You  must  come  with  me  to  see  King 
Dox." 

"Who  's  he?"  asked  Button-Bright,  with  earnest  eyes. 

"King  Dox  of  Foxville;  the  great  and  wise  sovereign  who 
Tules  over  our  community." 

36 


I 


A    Queer    Village 


"What 's  sov'rin,  and  what 's  c'u'nity  ?"  inquired  Button- 
Bright. 

"Don't  ask  so  many  questions,  little  boy." 

"Why?" 

"Ah,  why,  indeed?"  exclaimed  the  captain,  looking  at 
Button-Bright  admiringly.  "If  you  don't  ask  questions  you 
will  learn  nothing.  True  enough.  I  was  wrong.  You  're  a 
very  clever  little  boy,  come  to  think  of  it  —  very  clever  in- 
deed. But  now.  friends,  please  come  with  me,  for  it  is  my 
duty  to  escort  you  at  once  to  the  royal  palace." 

The  soldiers  marched  back  through  the  arch  again,  and 
with  them  marched  the  shaggy  man,  Dorothy,  Toto,  and  But- 
ton-Bright.    Once  through  the  opening  they  found  a  fine,  big 

37 


The     Road     to     Oz 


city  spread  out  before  them,  all  the  houses  of  carved  marble 
in  beautiful  colors.  The  decorations  were  mostly  birds  and 
other  fowl,  such  as  peacocks,  pheasants,  turkeys,  prairie- 
chickens,  ducks,  and  geese.  Over  each  doorway  was  carved  a 
head  representing  the  fox  who  lived  in  that  house,  this  eifect 
being  quite  pretty  and  unusual. 

As  our  friends  marched  along,  some  of  the  foxes  came  out 
on  the  porches  and  balconies  to  get  a  view  of  the  strangers. 
These  foxes  were  all  handsomely  dressed,  the  girl-foxes  and 
women-foxes  wearing  gowns  of  feathers  woven  together  ef- 
fectively and  colored  in  bright  hues  which  Dorothy  thought 
were  quite  artistic  and  decidedly  attractive. 

Button-Bright  stared  until  his  eyes  were  big  and  round, 
and  he  would  have  stumbled  and  fallen  more  than  once  had 
not  the  shaggy  man  grasped  his  hand  tightly.  They  were  all 
interested,  and  Toto  was  so  excited  he  wanted  to  bark  every 
minute  and  to  chase  and  fight  every  fox  he  caught  sight  of; 
but  Dorothy  held  his  little  wiggling  body  fast  in  her  arms  and 
commanded  him  to  be  good  and  behave  himself.  So  he  finally 
quieted  down,  like  a  wise  doggy,  deciding  there  were  too 
many  foxes  in  Foxville  to  fight  at  one  time. 

By-and-bye  they  came  to  a  big  square,  and  in  the  center 
of  the  square  stood  the  royal  palace.  Dorothy  knew  it  at  once 
because  it  had  over  its  great  door  the  carved  head  of  a  fox 

38 


A    Queer    Village 

just  like  the  one  she  had  seen  on  the  arch,  and  this  fox  was  the 
only  one  who  wore  a  golden  crown. 

There  were  many  fox-soldiers  guarding  the  door,  but  they 
bowed  to  the  captain  and  admitted  him  without  question. 
The  captain  led  them  through  many  rooms,  where  richly 
dressed  foxes  were  sitting  on  beautiful  chairs  or  sipping  tea, 
which  was  being  passed  around  by  fox-servants  in  white 
aprons.  They  came  to  a  big  doorway  covered  with  heavy  cur- 
tains of  cloth  of  gold. 

Beside  this  doorway  stood  a  huge  drum.  The  fox-captain 
went  to  this  drum  and  knocked  his  knees  against  it  —  first 
one  knee  and  then  the  other  —  so  that  the  drum  said;  "Boom- 
boom." 

"You  must  all  do  exactly  what  I  do,"  ordered  the  captain ; 
so  the  shaggy  man  pounded  the  drum  with  his  knees,  and  so 
did  Dorothy  and  so  did  Button-Bright.  The  boy  wanted  to 
keep  on  pounding  it  with  his  little  fat  knees,  because  he  liked 
the  sound  of  it;  but  the  captain  stopped  him.  Toto  could  n't 
pound  the  drum  with  his  knees  and  he  did  n't  know  enough  to 
wag  his  tail  against  it,  so  Dorothy  pounded  the  drum  for  him 
and  that  made  him  bark,  and  when  the  little  dog  barked  the 
fox-captain  scowled. 

The  golden  curtains  drew  back  far  enough  to  make  an 
opening,  through  which  marched  the  captain  with  the  others. 

The  broad,  long  room  they  entered  was  decorated  in  gold 

39 


The     Road     to     Oz 


with  stained-glass  windows  of  splendid  colors.  In  the  center 
of  the  room,  upon  a  richly  carved  golden  throne,  sat  the  fox- 
king,  surrounded  by  a  group  of  other  foxes,  all  of  whom  wore 
great  spectacles  over  their  eyes,  making  them  look  solemn  and 
important. 


Dorothy  knew  the  King  at  once,  because  she  had  seen  his 
head  carved  on  the  arch  and  over  the  doorway  of  the  palace. 
Having  met  with  several  other  kings  in  her  travels  she  knew 
what  to  do,  and  at  once  made  a  low  bow  before  the  throne. 
The  shaggy  man  bowed,  too,  and  Button-Bright  bobbed  his 
head  and  said  "Hello." 

"Most  wise  and  noble  Potentate  of  Foxville,"  said  the 

40 


A    Queer    Village 

captain,  addressing  the  King  in  a  pompous  voice,  "I  humbly 
beg  to  report  that  I  found  these  strangers  on  the  road  leading 
to  your  Foxy  Majesty's  dominions,  and  have  therefore 
brought  them  before  you,  as  is  my  duty." 

"So  —  so,"  said  the  King,  looking  at  them  keenly.  "What 
brought  you  here,  strangers?" 

"Our  legs,  may  it  please  your  Royal  Hairiness,"  replied 
the  shaggy  man. 

"What  is  your  business  here*?"  was  the  next  question. 

"To  get  away  as  soon  as  possible,"  said  the  shaggy  man. 

The  King  did  n't  know  about  the  Magnet,  of  course ;  but 
it  made  him  love  the  shaggy  man  at  once. 

"Do  just  as  you  please  about  going  away,"  he  said;  *T3ut 
I  'd  like  to  show  you  the  sights  of  my  city  and  to  entertain 
your  party  while  you  are  here.  We  feel  highly  honored  to 
have  little  Dorothy  with  us,  I  assure  you,  and  we  appreciate 
her  kindness  in  making  us  a  visit.  For  whatever  country  Dor- 
othy visits  is  sure  to  become  famous." 

This  speech  greatly  surprised  the  little  girl,  who  asked: 

"How  did  your  Majesty  know  my  name?' 

"Why,  everybody  knows  you,  my  dear,"  said  the  Fox- 
King.  "Don't  you  realize  that?  You  are  quite  an  important 
personage  since  Princess  Ozma  of  Oz  made  you  her  friend." 

"Do  you  know  Ozma?"  she  asked,  wondering. 

"I  regret  to  say  that  I  do  not,"  he  answered,  sadly;  ^Tjut  I 

41 


The     Road     to     Oz 


hope  to  meet  her  soon.  You  know  the  Princess  Ozma  is  to 
celebrate  her  birthday  on  the  twenty-first  of  this  month." 

*ls  she?"  said  Dorothy.     "I  did  n't  know  that." 

"Yes;  it  is  to  be  the  most  brilliant  royal  ceremony  ever 
held  in  any  city  in  Fairyland,  and  I  hope  you  will  try  to  get 
me  an  invitation." 

Dorothy  thought  a  moment. 

"I  'm  sure  Ozma  would  invite  you  if  I  asked  her,"  she 
said:  "but  how  could  you  get  to  the  Land  of  Oz  and  the  Emer- 
ald City?    It 's  a  good  way  from  Kansas." 

"Kansas!"  he  exclaimed,  surprised. 

"Why,  yes;  we  are  in  Kansas  now,  are  n't  we?"  she  re- 
turned. 


A    Queer    Village 

"What  a  queer  notion!"  cried  the  Fox-King,  beginning  to 
laugh.    ''Whatever  made  you  think  this  is  Kansas?" 

"I  left  Uncle  Henry's  farm  only  about  two  hours  ago; 
that 's  the  reason,"  she  said,  rather  perplexed. 

"But,  tell  me,  my  dear,  did  you  ever  see  so  wonderful  a 
city  as  Foxville  in  Kansas'?"  he  questioned. 

"No,  your  Majesty." 
"And  have  n't  you  traveled  from  Oz  to  Kansas  in  less  than 
half  a  jiffy,  by  means  of  the  Silver  Shoes  and  the   Magic 
Belt?' 

"Yes,  your  Majesty,"  she  acknowledged. 

"Then  why  do  you  wonder  that  an  hour  or  two  could 
bring  you  to  Foxville,  which  is  nearer  to  Oz  than  it  is  to 
Kansas?" 

"Dear  me !"  exclaimed  Dorothy;  "is  this  another  fairy  ad- 
venture?" 

"It  seems  to  be,"  said  the  Fox-King,  smiling. 

Dorothy  turned  to  the  shaggy  man,  and  her  face  was 
grave  and  reproachful. 

"Are  you  a  magician?  or  a  fairy  in  disguise?"  she  asked. 
"Did  you  enchant  me  when  you  asked  the  way  to  Butter- 
field?" 

The  shaggy  man  shook  his  head. 

"Who  ever  heard  of  a  shaggy  fairy?"  he  replied.  "No, 
Dorothy,  my  dear;  I  'm  not  to  blame  for  this  journey  in  any 

43 


The     Road     to     Oz 


way,  I  assure  you.  There  's  been  something  strange  about  me 
ever  since  I  owned  the  Love  Magnet;  but  I  don't  know  what 
it  is  any  more  than  you  do.  I  did  n't  try  to  get  you  away  from 
home,  at  all.  If  you  want  to  find  your  way  back  to  the  farm 
I  '11  go  with  you  willingly,  and  do  my  best  to  help  you." 

"Never  mind,"  said  the  little  girl,  thoughtfully.  "There 
is  n't  so  much  to  see  in  Kansas  as  there  is  here,  and  I  guess 
Aunt  Em  won  't  be  very  much  worried;  that  is,  if  I  don  't  stay 
away  too  long." 

"That  's  right,"  declared  the  Fox-King,  nodding  ap- 
proval. "Be  contented  with  your  lot,  whatever  it  happens 
to  be,  if  you  are  wise.    Which  reminds  me  that  you  have  a 


'O  ""'  ■^v^ 


ni6  ROYAL  rOXINESS 
44 


A    Queer    Village 


new  companion  on  this  adventure — he  looks  very  clever  and 

bnght." 

"He  is,"  said  Dorothy;  and  the  shaggy  man  added: 
"That  's  his  name,    your    Royal    Foxiness  —  Button 

Bright." 


4$ 


I 


IT  was  amusing  to  note  the  expression  on  the  face  of  King 
Dox  as  he  looked  the  boy  over,  from  his  sailor  hat  to  his 
stubby  shoes;  and  it  was  equally  diverting  to  watch  Button- 
Bright  stare  at  the  King  in  return.  No  fox  ever  beheld  a 
fresher,  fairer  child's  face,  and  no  child  had  ever  before  heard 
a  fox  talk,  or  met  with  one  who  dressed  so  handsomely  and 
ruled  so  big  a  city.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  no  one  had  ever  told 
the  little  boy  much  about  fairies  of  any  kind;  this  being  the 
case,  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  much  this  strange  experi- 
ence startled  and  astonished  him. 

"How  do  you  like  us^"  asked  the  King. 


King     Do 


"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"Of  course  you  don't.    It  's  too  short  an  acquaintance." 
returned  his  Majesty.     "What  do  you  suppose  my  name 
is?" 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"How  should  you'?  Well,  I  '11  tell  you.  My  private 
name  is  Dox,  but  a  King  can't  be  called  by  his  private  name; 
he  has  to  take  one  that  is  official.  Therefore  my  official  name 
is  King  Renard  the  Fourth.  Ren-ard  with  the  accent  on  the 
'Ren'." 

"What's  'ren'  T  asked  Button-Bright. 

"How  clever  I  "  exclaimed  the  King,  turning  a  pleased 
face  toward  his  counselors.  "This  boy  is  indeed  remarkably 
bright.  *What  's  *ren' *?  he  asks;  and  of  course  'ren'  is  nothing 
at  all,  all  by  itself.    Yes;  he  's  very  bright  indeed." 

"That  question  is  what  your  Majesty  might  call  foxy," 
said  one  of  the  counselors,  an  old  grey  fox. 

"So  it  is,"  declared  the  King.  Turning  again  to  Button- 
Bright,  he  asked : 

"Having  told  you  my  name,  what  would  you  call  me?" 

"King  Dox,"  said  the  boy. 

"Why?" 

"  'Cause  *ren'  's  nothing  at  all,"  was  the  reply. 

"Good!  Very  good  indeed!  You  certainly  have  a  bril- 
liant mind.    Do  you  know  why  two  and  two  make  four?" 

47 


The     Road     to     Oz 


"No,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"Clever!  clever  indeed.  Of  course  you  don't  know.  No- 
body knows  why;  we  only  know  it 's  so,  and  can't  tell  why  it 's 
so.  Button-Bright,  those  curls  and  blue  eyes  do  not  go  well 
with  so  much  wisdom.  They  make  you  look  too  youthful,  and 
hide  your  real  cleverness.    Therefore,  I  will  do  you  a  great 


favor.    I  will  confer  upon  you  the  head  of  a  fox,  so  that  you 
may  hereafter  look  as  bright  as  you  really  are." 

As  he  spoke  the  King  waved  his  paw  toward  the  boy,  and 
at  once  the  pretty  curls  and  fresh  round  face  and  big  blue  eyes 
were  gone,  while  in  their  place  a  fox's  head  appeared  upon 
Button-Bright's  shoulders  —  a  hairy  head  with  a  sharp  nose, 
pointed  ears,  and  keen  little  eyes. 

48 


King     D  o  X 


"Oh,  don't  do  that  I"  cried  Dorothy,  shrinking  back  from 
her  transformed  companion  with  a  shocked  and  dismayed 
face. 

"Too  late,  my  dear;  it's  done.  But  you  also  shall  have  a 
fox's  head  if  you  can  prove  you  're  as  clever  as  Button- 
Bright." 

"I  don't  want  it;  it's  dreadful!"  she  exclaimed;  and, 
hearing  this  verdict,  Button-Bright  began  to  boo-hoo  just  as 
if  he  were  still  a  little  boy. 

"How  can  you  call  that  lovely  head  dreadful  *?"  asked  the 
King.  "It 's  a  much  prettier  face  than  he  had  before,  to  my 
notion,  and  my  wife  says  I  'm  a  good  judge  of  beauty.  Don't 
cry,  little  fox-boy.  Laugh  and  be  proud,  because  you  are 
so  highly  favored.  How  do  you  like  the  new  head,  Button- 
Bright?' 

"D-d-don't  n-n-n-know!"  sobbed  the  child. 

"Please,  please  change  him  back  again,  your  Majesty!" 
begged  Dorothy. 

King  Renard  IV  shook  his  head. 

"I  can't  do  that,"  he  said;  "I  have  n't  the  power,  even  if 
I  wanted  to.  No,  Button-Bright  must  wear  his  fox  head,  and 
he  '11  be  sure  to  love  it  dearly  as  soon  as  he  gets  used  to  it." 

Both  the  shaggy  man  and  Dorothy  looked  grave  and  anx- 
ious, for  they  were  sorrowful  that  such  a  misfortune  had 
overtaken  their  little  companion.    Toto  barked  at  the  fox-boy 

49 


The     Road     to     Oz 

once  or  twice,  not  realizing  it  was  his  former  friend  who  now 
wore  the  animal  head ;  but  Dorothy  cuffed  the  dog  and  made 
him  stop.  As  for  the  foxes,  they  all  seemed  to  think  Button- 
Bright' s  new  head  very  becoming  and  that  their  King  had 
conferred  a  great  honor  on  this  little  stranger. 

It  was  funny  to  see  the  boy  reach  up  to  feel  of  his  sharp 
nose  and  wide  mouth,  and  wail  afresh  with  grief.  He  wagged 
his  ears  in  a  comical  manner  and  tears  were  in  his  little  black 
eyes.  But  Dorothy  could  n't  laugh  at  her  friend  just  yet,  be- 
cause she  felt  so  sorry. 

Just  then  three  little  fox-princesses,  daughters  of  the 
King,  entered  the  room,  and  when  they  saw  Button-Bright 
one  exclaimed:  "How  lovely  he  is  I"  and  the  next  one  cried  in 
delight:  "How  sweet  he  is!"  and  the  third  princess  clapped 
her  hands  with  pleasure  and  said,  "How  beautiful  he  is!" 

Button-Bright  stopped  crying  and  asked  timidly: 

"Am  ir 

"In  all  the  world  there  is  not  another  face  so  pretty,"  de- 
clared the  biggest  fox-princess. 

"You  must  live  with  us  always,  and  be  our  brother,"  said 
the  next. 

"We  shall  all  love  you  dearly,"  the  third  said. 

This  praise  did  much  to  comfort  the  boy,  and  he  looked 
around  and  tried  to  smile.    It  was  a  pitiful  attempt,  because 

50 


King     D  o  X 


the  fox  face  was  new  and  stiff,  and  Dorothy  thought  his  ex- 
pression more  stupid  than  before  the  transformation. 

"I  think  we  ought  to  be  going  now,"  said  the  shaggy  man, 
uneasily,  for  he  did  n't  know  what  the  King  might  take  into 
his  head  to  do  next. 

"Don't  leave  us  yet,  I  beg  of  you,"  pleaded  King  Re- 
nard.  "I  intend  to  have  several  days  of  feasting  and  merry- 
making, in  honor  of  your  visit." 

''Have  it  after  we  're  gone,  for  we  can't  wait,"  said  Doro- 
thy, decidedly.  But  seeing  this  displeased  the  King,  she 
added :  "If  I  'm  going  to  get  Ozma  to  invite  you  to  her  party 
I  '11  have  to  find  her  as  soon  as  poss'ble,  you  know." 

In  spite  of  all  the  beauty  of  Foxville  and  the  gorgeous 
dresses  of  its  inhabitants,  both  the  girl  and  the  shaggy  man 
felt  they  were  not  quite  safe  there,  and  would  be  glad  to  see 
the  last  of  it. 

*'But  it  is  now  evening,"  the  King  reminded  them,  "and 
you  must  stay  with  us  until  morning,  anyhow.  Therefore  I 
invite  you  to  be  my  guests  at  dinner,  and  to  attend  the  theater 
afterward  and  sit  in  the  royal  box.  To-morrow  morning,  if 
you  really  insist  upon  it,  you  may  resume  your  journey." 

They  consented  to  this,  and  some  of  the  fox-servants  led 
them  to  a  suite  of  lovely  rooms  in  the  big  palace. 

Button-Bright  was  afraid  to  be  left  alone,  so  Dorothy 
took  him  into  her  own  room.    While  a  maid-fox  dressed  the 

51 


The     Road     to     Oz 


little  girl's  hair  —  which  was  a  bit  tangled  —  and  put  some 
bright,  fresh  ribbons  in  it,  another  maid-fox  combed  the  hair 
on  poor  Button-Bright's  face  and  head  and  brushed  it  care- 
fully, tying  a  pink  bow  to  each  of  his  pointed  ears.  The 
maids  wanted  to  dress  the  children  in  fine  costumes  of  woven 
feathers,  such  as  all  the  foxes  wore ;  but  neither  of  them  con- 
sented to  that. 

"A  sailor  suit  and  a  fox  head  do  not  go  well  together,'' 
said  one  of  the  maids;  "for  no  fox  was  ever  a  sailor  that  I  can 
remember." 

"I  'm  not  a  fox!"  cried  Button-Bright. 

"Alas,  no,"  agreed  the  maid.     "But  you  've  got  a  lovely 

52 


King     Do 


fox  head  on  your  skinny  shoulders,  and  that 's  almost  as  good 
as  being  a  fox." 

The  boy,  reminded  of  his  misfortune,  began  to  cry  again. 
Dorothy  petted  and  comforted  him  and  promised  to  find  some 
way  to  restore  him  his  own  head. 

"If  we  can  manage  to  get  to  Ozma,"  she  said,  "the  Prin- 
cess will  change  you  back  to  yourself  in  half  a  second;  so  you 
just  wear  that  fox  head  as  comf't'bly  as  you  can,  dear,  and 
don't  worry  about  it  at  all.  It  is  n't  nearly  as  pretty  as  your 
own  head,  no  matter  what  the  foxes  say;  but  you  can  get  along 
with  it  for  a  little  while  longer,  can't  you?" 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright,  doubtfully;  but  he 
did  n't  cry  any  more  after  that. 

Dorothy  let  the  maids  pin  ribbons  to  her  shoulders,  after 
which  they  were  ready  for  the  King's  dinner.  When  they  met 
the  shaggy  man  in  the  splendid  drawing-room  of  the  palace 
they  found  him  just  the  same  as  before.  He  had  refused  to 
give  up  his  shaggy  clothes  for  new  ones,  because  if  he  did 
that  he  would  no  longer  be  the  shaggy  man,  he  said,  and  he 
might  have  to  get  acquainted  with  himself  all  over  again. 

He  told  Dorothy  he  had  brushed  his  shaggy  hair  and 
whiskers;  but  she  thought  he  must  have  brushed  them  the 
wrong  way,  for  they  were  quite  as  shaggy  as  before. 

As  for  the  company  of  foxes  assembled  to  dine  with  the 
strangers,  they  were  most  beautifully  costumed,  and  their 

53 


The     Road     to     Oz 

rich  dresses  made  Dorothy's  simple  gown  and  Button-Bright*s 
sailor  suit  and  the  shaggy  man's  shaggy  clothes  look  common- 
place. But  they  treated  their  guests  with  great  respect  and 
the  King's  dinner  was  a  very  good  dinner  indeed. 

Foxes,  as  you  know,  are  fond  of  chicken  and  other  fowl ; 
so  they  served  chicken  soup  and  roasted  turkey  and  stewed 
duck  and  fried  grouse  and  broiled  quail  and  goose  pie,  and  as 
the  cooking  was  excellent  the  King's  guests  enjoyed  the  meal 
and  ate  heartily  of  the  various  dishes. 

The  party  went  to  the  theater,  where  they  saw  a  play 
acted  by  foxes  dressed  in  costumes  of  brilliantly  colored  feath- 
ers. The  play  was  about  a  fox-girl  who  was  stolen  by  some 
wicked  wolves  and  carried  to  their  cave;  and  just  as  they  were 
about  to  kill  her  and  eat  her  a  company  of  fox-soldiers 
marched  up,  saved  the  girl,  and  put  all  the  wicked  wolves  to 
death. 

**How  do  you  like  it?"  the  King  asked  Dorothy. 

"Pretty  well,"  she  answered.  "It  reminds  me  of  one  of 
Mr.  Aesop's  fables." 

"Don't  mention  Aesop  to  me,  I  beg  of  )^ouI"  exclaimed 
King  Dox.  "I  hate  that  man's  name.  He  wrote  a  good  deal 
about  foxes,  but  always  made  them  out  cruel  and  wicked, 
whereas  we  are  gentle  and  kind,  as  you  may  see." 

"  But  his  fables  showed  you  to  be  wise  and  clever,  and 

54 


King    D  o  X 


more  shrewd  than  other  animals,"  said  the  shaggy  man, 
thoughtfully. 

"So  we  are.  There  is  no  question  about  our  knowing  more 
than  men  do,"  replied  the  King,  proudly.  "But  we  employ 
our  wisdom  to  do  good,  instead  of  harm ;  so  that  horrid  Aesop 
did  not  know  what  he  was  talking  about." 

They  did  not  like  to  contradict  him,  because  they  felt 
he  ought  to  know  the  nature  of  foxes  better  than  men  did; 
so  they  sat  still  and  watched  the  play,  and  Button-Bright  be- 
came so  interested  that  for  the  time  he  forgot  he  wore  a  fox 
head. 

Afterward  they  went  back  to  the  palace  and  slept  in  soft 
beds  stuffed  with  feathers;  for  the  foxes  raised  many  fowl 

55 


The     Road     to     Oz 

for  food,  and  used  their  feathers  for  clothing  and  to  sleep 
upono 

Dorothy  wondered  why  the  animals  living  in  Foxville  did 
not  wear  just  their  own  hairy  skins,  as  wild  foxes  do;  when 
she  mentioned  it  to  King  Dox  he  said  they  clothed  them- 
selves because  they  were  civilized. 

**But  you  were  born  without  clothes,"  she  observed,  "and 
you  don't  seem  to  me  to  need  them." 

"So  were  human  beings  born  without  clothes,"  he  replied; 
"and  until  they  became  civilized  they  wore  only  their  natural 
skinSo  But  to  become  civilized  means  to  dress  as  elaborately 
and  prettily  as  possible,  and  to  make  a  show  of  your  clothes 
so  your  neighbors  will  envy  you,  and  for  that  reason  both 
civilized  foxes  and  civilized  humans  spend  most  of  their  time 
dressing  themselves." 

"I  don't,"  declared  the  shaggy  man. 

"That  is  true,"  said  the  King,  looking  at  him  carefully: 
"but  perhaps  you  are  not  civilized." 

After  a  sound  sleep  and  a  good  night' s  rest  they  had  their 
breakfast  with  the  King  and  then  bade  his  Majesty  good-bye. 

"Ycu  Ve  been  kind  to  us  —  'cept  poor  Button-Bright," 
said  Dorothy,  "and  we  've  had  a  nice  time  in  Foxville." 

"Then,"  said  King  Dox,  "perhaps  you  '11  be  good  enough 
to  get  me  an  invitation  to  Princess  Ozma's  birthday  celebra- 


tion." 


56 


King     D  o  X 


"I  '11  try,"  she  promised;  "if  I  see  her  in  time." 

"It 's  on  the  twenty-first,  remember,"  he  continued;  "and 
if  you  '11  just  see  that  I  'm  invited  I  '11  find  a  way  to  cross  the 
Dreadful  Desert  into  the  marvelous  Land  of  Oz.  I  've  al- 
ways wanted  to  visit  the  Emerald  City,  so  I  'm  sure  it  was 
fortunate  you  arrived  here  just  when  you  did,  you  being  Prin- 
cess Ozma's  friend  and  able  to  assist  me  in  getting  the  invi- 
tation." 

"If  I  see  Ozma  I  '11  ask  her  to  invite  you,"  she  replied. 

The  Fox-King  had  a  delightful  luncheon  put  up  for  them, 
which  the  shaggy  man  shoved  in  his  pocket,  and  the  fox-cap- 
tain escorted  them  to  an  arch  at  the  side  of  the  village  oppo- 
site the  one  by  which  they  had  entered.  Here  they  found 
more  soldiers  guarding  the  road. 

"Are  you  afraid  of  enemies'?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"No;  because  we  are  watchful  and  able  to  protect  our- 
selves," answered  the  captain.  "But  this  road  leads  to  an- 
other village  peopled  by  big,  stupid  beasts  who  might  cause 
us  trouble  if  they  thought  we  were  afraid  of  them." 

"What  beasts  are  they?"  asked  the  shaggy  man. 

The  captain  hesitated  to  answer.    P'inally  he  said : 

"You  will  learn  all  about  them  when  you  arrive  at  their 
city.  But  do  not  be  afraid  of  them.  Button-Bright  is  so 
wonderfully  clever  and  has  now  such  an  intelligent  face  that 
I  'm  sure  he  will  manage  to  find  a  way  to  protect  you." 

J7 


The     Road     to     Oz 

This  made  Dorothy  and  the  shaggy  man  rather  uneasy,  for 
they  had  not  so  much  confidence  in  the  fox-boy's  wisdom  as 
the  captain  seemed  to  have.  But  as  their  escort  would  say  no 
more  about  the  beasts,  they  bade  him  good-bye  and  proceeded 
on  their  journey. 


58 


TOTO,  now  allowed  to  run  about  as  he  pleased,  was  glad 
to  be  free  again  and  able  to  bark  at  the  birds  and  chase  the 
butterflies.  The  country  around  them  was  charming,  yet  in 
the  pretty  fields  of  wild-flowers  and  groves  of  leafy  trees  were 
no  houses  whatever,  or  sign  of  any  inhabitants.  Birds  flew 
through  the  air  and  cunning  white  rabbits  darted  amongst 
the  tall  grasses  and  green  bushes ;  Dorothy  noticed  even  the 
ants  toiling  busily  along  the  roadway,  bearing  gigantic  loads 
of  clover  seed;  but  of  people  there  were  none  at  all. 

They  walked  briskly  Oi.\  for  an  hour  or  t>  o,  for  even  lit- 
tle Button-Bright  was  a  g^^od  walker  and  diu  not  tire  easily* 

S9 


The     Road     to     Oz 


At  length  as  they  turned  a  curve  in  the  road  they  beheld  just 
before  them  a  curious  sight. 

A  little  girl,  radiant  and  beautiful,  shapely  as.  a 
fairy  and  exquisitely  dressed,  was  dancing  gracefully  in  the 
middle  of  the  lonely  road,  whirling  slowly  this  way  and  that, 
her  dainty  feet  twinkling  in  sprightly  fashion.  She  was  clad 
in  flowing,  fluffy  robes  of  soft  material  that  reminded  Doro- 
thy of  woven  cobwebs,  only  it  was  colored  in  soft  tintings  of 
violet,  rose,  topaz,  olive,  azure,  and  white,  mingled  together 
most  harmoniously  in  stripes  which  melted  one  into  the  other 
with  soft  blendings.  Her  hair  was  like  spun  gold  and  floated 
around  her  in  a  cloud,  no  strand  being  fastened  or  confined 
by  either  pin  or  ornament  or  ribbon. 

Filled  with  wonder  and  admiration  our  friends  ap- 
proached and  stood  watching  this  fascinating  dance.  The  girl 
was  no  taller  than  Dorothy,  although  more  slender;  nor  did 
she  seem  any  older  than  our  little  heroine. 

Suddenly  she  paused  and  abandoned  the  dance,  as  if  for 
the  first  time  observing  the  presence  of  strangers.  As  she 
faced  them,  shy  as  a  frightened  fawn,  poised  upon  one  foot  as 
if  to  fly  the  next  instant,  Dorothy  was  astonished  to  see  tears 
flowing  from  her  violet  eyes  and  trickling  down  her  lovely 
rose-hued  cheeks.  That  the  dainty  maiden  should  dance 
and  weep  at  the  same  time  was  indeed  surprising;  so  Dorothy 
asked  in  a  soft,  sympathetic  voice : 

60 


6f 


POLYCHROME-THE  RAINBOWS  DAUGH1£I« 


The    Road     to     Oz 

"Are  you  unhappy,  little  girl?'* 

"Very I"  was  the  reply;  "I  am  lost."  ' 

"Why,  so  are  we,"  said  Dorothy,  smiling;  "but  we  don  't 
cry  about  it." 

"Don't  you?    Why  not?' 

"  'Cause  I  've  been  lost  before,  and  always  got  found 
again,"  answered  Dorothy,  simply. 

"But  I  've  never  been  lost  before,"  murmured  the  dainty 
maiden,  "and  I  'm  worried  and  afraid." 

"You  were  dancing,"  remarked  Dorothy,  in  a  puzzled 
tone  of  voice. 

"Oh,  that  was  just  to  keep  warm,"  explained  the  maiden, 
quickly.  "It  was  not  because  I  felt  happy  or  gay,  I  assure 
you. 

Dorothy  looked  at  her  closely.  Her  gauzy  flowing  robes 
might  not  be  very  warm,  yet  the  weather  was  n't  at  all  chilly, 
but  rather  mild  and  balmy,  like  a  spring  day. 

"Who  are  you,  dear*?"  she  asked,  gently. 

"I  'm  Polychrome,"  was  the  reply. 

"Polly  whom?" 

"Polychrome.    I  'm  the  Daughter  of  the  Rainbow." 

"Oh!"  said  Dorothy,  with  a  gasp;  "I  did  n't  know  the 
Rainbow  had  children.  But  I  might  have  known  it,  before 
you  spoke.    You  could  n't  really  be  anything  else." 

"Why  not?"  inquired  Polychrome,  as  if  surprised. 

62 


The     Rainbow's     Daughter 

''Because  you  're  so  lovely  and  sweet." 

The  little  maiden  smiled  through  her  tears,  came  up  to 
Dorothy,  and  placed  her  slender  fingers  in  the  Kansas  girl's 
chubby  hand. 

"You  '11  be  my  friend  —  won't  you?"  she  said,  plead- 
ingly. 


"Of  course." 

"And  what  is  your  name*?" 

"I  *m  Dorothy;  and  this  is  my  friend  Shaggy  Man,  who 
owns  the  Love  Magnet ;  and  this  is  Button-Bright  —  only 
you  don't  see  him  as  he  really  is  because  the  Fox-King  care- 
lessly changed  his  head  into  a  fox  head.  But  the  real  Button- 
Bright  is  good  to  look  at,  and  I  hope  to  get  him  changed  back 
to  himself,  some  time." 

63 


The     Road     to     Oz 

The  Rainbow's  Daughter  nodded  cheerfully,  no  longer 
afraid  of  her  new  companions. 

"But  who  is  this?"  she  asked,  pointing  to  Toto,  who  was 
sitting  before  her  wagging  his  tail  in  the  most  friendly  man- 
ner and  admiring  the  pretty  maid  with  his  bright  eyes.  "Is 
this,  also,  some  enchanted  person  T' 

"Oh  no,  Polly  —  I  may  call  you  Polly,  may  n  1 1?  Your 
whole  name  's  awful  hard  to  say." 

"Call  me  Polly  if  you  wish,  Dorothy." 

"Well,  Polly,  Toto  's  just  a  dog;  but  he  has  more  sense 
than  Button-Bright,  to  tell  the  truth;  and  I  'm  very  fond  of 
him." 

"So  am  I,"  said  Polychrome,  bending  gracefully  to  pat 
Toto's  head. 

"But  how  did  the  Rainbow's  Daughter  ever  get  on  this 
lonely  road,  and  become  lost?"  asked  the  shaggy  man,  who 
had  listened  wonderingly  to  all  this. 

"Why,  my  father  stretched  his  rainbow  over  here  this 
morning,  so  that  one  end  of  it  touched  this  road,"  was  the  re- 
ply; "and  I  was  dancing  upon  the  pretty  rays,  as  I  love  to  do, 
and  never  noticed  I  was  getting  too  far  over  the  bend  in  the 
circle.  Suddenly  I  began  to  slide,  and  I  went  faster  and  faster 
until  at  last  I  bumped  on  the  ground,  at  the  very  end.  Just 
then  father  lifted  the  rainbow  again,  without  noticing  me  at 
all,  and  though  I  tried  to  seize  the  end  of  it  and  hold  fast,  it 

64 


The     Rainbow's     Daughter 

melted  away  entirely  and  I  was  left  alone  and  helpless  on 
the  cold,  hard  earth  I" 

"It  does  n't  seem  cold  to  me,  Polly,"  said  Dorothy;  "but 
perhaps  you  're  not  warmly  dressed." 

"I  'm  so  used  to  living  nearer  the  sun,"  replied  the  Rain- 
bow's Daughter,  "that  at  first  I  feared  I  would  freeze  down 
here.  But  my  dance  has  warmed  me  some,  and  now  I  wonder 
how  I  am  ever  to  get  home  again." 

"Won't  your  father  miss  you,  and  look  for  you,  and  let 
down  another  rainbow  for  you?" 

"Perhaps  so;  but  he  's  busy  just  now  because  it  rains  in 
so  many  parts  of  the  world  at  this  season,  and  he  has  to  set 


65 


The    Road    to    Oz 

his  rainbow  in  a  lot  of  different  places.  What  would  you  ad- 
vise me  to  do,  Dorothy'?" 

"Come  with  us,"  was  the  answer.  "I  'm  going  to  try  to 
find  my  way  to  the  Emerald  City,  which  is  in  the  fairy  Land 
of  Oz.  The  Emerald  City  is  ruled  by  a  friend  of  mine,  the 
Princess  Ozma,  and  if  we  can  manage  to  get  there  I  '*m  sure 
she  will  know  a  way  to  send  you  home  to  your  father  again." 

"Do  you  really  think  so*?"  asked  Polychrome,  anxiously. 

*T  'm  pretty  sure." 

"Then  I  '11  go  with  you,"  said  the  little  maid;  "for  travel 
will  help  keep  me  warm,  and  father  can  find  me  in  one  part  of 
the  world  as  well  as  another  —  if  he  gets  time  to  look  for 


me." 


"Come  along,  then,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  cheerfully; 
and  they  started  on  once  more.  Polly  walked  beside  Doro- 
thy a  while,  holding  her  new  friend's  hand  as  if  she  feared 
to  let  it  go;  but  her  nature  seemed  as  light  and  buoyant  as 
her  fleecy  robes,  for  suddenly  she  darted  ahead  and  whirled 
round  in  a  giddy  dance.  Then  she  tripped  back  to  them  with 
sparkling  eyes  and  smiling  cheeks,  having  regained  her  usual 
happy  mood  and  forgotten  all  her  worry  about  being  lost. 

They  found  her  a  charming  companion,  and  her  dancing 
and  laughter  —  for  she  laughed  at  times  like  the  tinkling  of 
a  silver  bell  —  did  much  to  enliven  their  journey  and  keep 
them  contented. 

66 


WHEN  noon  came  they  opened  the  Fox-King's  basket  of 
luncheon,  and  found  a  nice  roasted  turkey  with  cranberry 
sauce  and  some  slices  of  bread  and  butter.  As  they  sat  on  the 
grass  by  the  roadside  the  shaggy  man  cut  up  the  turkey  with 
his  pocket-knife  and  passed  slices  of  it  around. 

"Have  n't  you  any  dewdrops,  or  mist-cakes,  or  cloud- 
buns?"  asked  Polychrome,  longingly. 

"'Course  not,"  replied  Dorothy.  "We  eat  solid  things, 
down  here  on  the  earth.  But  there  's  a  bottle  of  cold  tea. 
Try  some,  won't  you*?" 

The  Rainbow's  Daughter  watched  Button-Bright  devour 
one  leg  of  the  turkey. 

67 


The     Road     to     Oz 


"Is  it  good?"  she  askedo 

He  nodded. 

"Do  you  think  I  could  eat  it?" 

"Not  this,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"But  I  mean  another  piece?" 

"Don't  know,"  he  replied. 

"Well,  I  'm  going  to  try,  for  I  'm  very  hungry,"  she  de- 
cided, and  took  a  thin  slice  of  the  white  breast  of  turkey 
which  the  shaggy  man  cut  for  her,  as  well  as  a  bit  of  bread  and 
butter.  When  she  tasted  it  Polychrome  thought  the  turkey 
was  good  —  better  even  than  mist-cakes ;  but  a  little  satisfied 
her  hunger  and  she  finished  with  a  tiny  sip  of  cold  tea. 

"That 's  about  as  much  as  a  fly  would  eat,"  said  Dorothy, 
who  was  making  a  good  meal  herself.  "But  I  know  some  peo- 
ple in  Oz  who  eat  nothing  at  all." 

"Who  are  they?"  inquired  the  shaggy  man. 

"One  is  a  scarecrow  who  's  stuffed  with  straw,  and  the 
other  a  woodman  made  out  of  tin.  They  have  n't  any  appe- 
tites inside  of  'em,  you  see;  so  they  never  eat  anything  at  all." 

"Are  they  alive?"  asked  Button-Bright. 

"Oh  yes,"  replied  Dorothy;  "and  they  're  very  clever  and 
very  nice,  too.    If  we  get  to  Oz  I  '11  introduce  them  to  you." 

"Do  you  really  expect  to  get  to  Oz?"  inquired  the  shaggy 
man,  taking  a  drink  of  cold  tea. 

"I  don't  know  just  what  to  'spect,"  answered  the  child, 

68 


69 


POLLY  SIPPED  A  LITTLE  COLD  TEA 


The     Road     to     Oz 

seriously;  "but  I  've  noticed  if  I  happen  to  get  lost  I  'm  al- 
most sure  to  come  to  the  Land  of  Oz  in  the  end,  somehow 
'r  other;  so  I  may  get  there  this  time.  But  I  can't  promise, 
you  know;  all  I  can  do  is  wait  and  see." 

"Will  the  Scarecrow  scare  me^"  asked  Button-Bright. 

"No;  'cause  you  're  not  a  crow,"  she  returned.  "He  has 
the  loveliest  smile  you  ever  saw  —  only  it 's  painted  on  and 
he  can't  help  it." 

Luncheon  being  over  they  started  again  upon  their  jour- 
ney, the  shaggy  man,  Dorothy  and  Button-Bright  walking 
soberly  along,  side  by  side,  and  the  Rainbow's  Daughter 
dancing  merrily  before  them. 

Sometimes  she  darted  along  the  road  so  swiftly  that  she 
was  nearly  out  of  sight,  then  she  came  tripping  back  to  greet 
them  with  her  silvery  laughter.  But  once  she  came  back  more 
sedately,  to  say  : 

"There's  a  city  a  little  way  off." 

"I  'spected  that,"  returned  Dorothy;  "for  the  fox-people 
warned  us  there  was  one  on  this  road.  It 's  filled  with  stupid 
beasts  of  some  sort,  but  we  must  n't  be  afraid  of  'em  'cause 
they  won't  hurt  us." 

"All  right,"  said  Button-Bright;  but  Polychrome  did  n't 
know  whether  it  was  all  right  or  not. 

"It  's  a  big  city,"  she  said,  "and  the  road  runs  straight 
through  it." 

70 


The     City     of     Beasts 

"Never  mind,"  said  the  shaggy  man;  "as  long  as  I  carry 
the  Love  Magnet  every  living  thing  will  love  me,  and  you 
may  be  sure  I  shan't  allow  any  of  my  friends  to  be  harmed 
in  any  way." 

This  comforted  them  somewhat,  and  they  moved  on  again. 
Pretty  soon  they  came  to  a  sign-post  that  read: 

"HAF  A  MYLE  TO  DUNKITON." 

"Oh,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  "if  they  're  donkeys  we  *ve 
nothing  to  fear  at  all." 

"They  may  kick,"  said  Dorothy,  doubtfully. 

"Then  we  will  cut  some  switches,  and  make  them  behave," 
he  replied.  At  the  first  tree  he  cut  himself  a  long,  slender 
switch  from  one  of  the  branches,  and  shorter  switches  for 
the  others. 

"Don't  be  afraid  to  order  the  beasts  around,"  he  said; 
"they  're  used  to  it." 

Before  long  the  road  brought  them  to  the  gates  of  the  city. 
There  was  a  high  wall  all  around,  which  had  been  white- 
washed, and  the  gate  just  before  our  travelers  was  a  mere 
opening  in  the  wall,  with  no  bars  across  it.  No  towers  or 
steeples  or  domes  showed  above  the  enclosure,  nor  was  any 
living  thing  to  be  seen  as  our  friends  drew  near. 

Suddenly,  as  they  were  about  to  boldly  enter  through  the 
opening,  there  arose  a  harsh  clamor  of  sound  that  swelled  and 

71 


The     Road     to     Oz 


echoed  on  every  side,  until  they  were  nearly  deafened  by  the 
racket  and  had  to  put  their  fingers  to  their  ears  to  keep  the 
noise  out. 

It  was  like  the  firing  of  many  cannon,  only  there  were  no 
cannon-balls  or  other  missiles  to  be  seen ;  it  was  like  the  roll- 
ing of  mighty  thunder,  only  not  a  cloud  was  in  the  sky;  it  was 
like  the  roar  of  countless  breakers  on  a  rugged  seashore,  only 
there  was  no  sea  or  other  water  anywhere  about. 

They  hesitated  to  advance ;  but,  as  the  noise  did  no  harm, 
they  entered  through  the  whitewashed  wall  and  quickly  dis- 
covered the  cause  of  the  turmoil.  Inside  were  suspended 
many  sheets  of  tin  or  thin  iron,  and  against  these  metal  sheets 
a  row  of  donkeys   were   pounding   their  heels  with  vicious 


The     City     of     Beasts 

The  shaggy  man  ran  up  to  the  nearest  donkey  and  gave 
the  beast  a  sharp  blow  with  his  switch. 

"Stop  that  noise  I"  he  shouted;  and  the  donkey  stopped 
kicking  the  metal  sheet  and  turned  its  head  to  look  with  sur- 
prise at  the  shaggy  man.  He  switched  the  next  donkey,  and 
made  him  stop,  and  then  the  next,  so  that  gradually  the  rat- 
tling of  heels  ceased  and  the  awful  noise  subsided.  The  don- 
keys stood  in  a  group  and  eyed  the  strangers  with  fear  and 
trembling. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  making  such  a  racket?"  asked  the 
shaggy  man,  sternly. 

"We  were  scaring  away  the  foxes,"  said  one  of  the 
donkeys,  meekly.  "Usually  they  run  fast  enough  when  they 
hear  the  noise,  which  makes  them  afraid." 

"There  are  no  foxes  here,"  said  the  shaggy  man. 

"I  beg  to  differ  with  you.  There  's  one,  anyhow,"  replied 
the  donkey,  sitting  upright  on  its  haunches  and  waving  a 
hoof  toward  Button-Bright.  "We  saw  him  coming  and 
thought  the  whole  army  of  foxes  was  marching  to  attack  us.". 

"Button-Bright  is  n't  a  fox,"  explained  the  shaggy  man. 
"He  's  only  wearing  a  fox  head  for  a  time,  until  he  can  get 
his  own  head  back." 

"Oh,  I  see,"  remarked  the  donkey,  waving  its  left  ear  re- 
flectively. "I  'm  sorry  we  made  such  a  mistake,  -and  had  all 
our  work  and  worry  for  nothing." 

73 


The     Road     to     Oz 

The  other  donkeys  by  this  time  were  sitting  up  and  exam- 
ining the  strangers  with  big,  glassy  eyes.  They  made  a  queer 
picture,  indeed ;  for  they  wore  wide,  white  collars  around  their 
necks  and  the  collars  had  many  scallops  and  points.  The 
gentlemen-donkeys  wore  high  pointed  caps  set  between  their 
great  ears,  and  the  lady-donkeys  wore  sunbonnets  with  holes 
cut  in  the  top  for  the  ears  to  stick  through.  But  they  had  no 
other  clothing  except  their  hairy  skins,  although  many  wore 
gold  and  silver  bangles  on  their  front  wrists  and  bands  of  dif- 
ferent metals  on  their  rear  ankles.  When  they  were  kicking 
they  had  braced  themselves  with  their  front  legs,  but  now 
they  all  stood  or  sat  upright  on  their  hind  legs  and  used  their 
front  ones  as  arms.  Having  no  fingers  or  hands  the  beasts 
were  rather  clumsy,  as  you  may  guess ;  but  Dorothy  was  sur- 
prised to  observe  how  many  things  they  could  do  with  their 
stiff,  heavy  hoofs. 

Some  of  the  donkeys  were  white,  some  were  brown,  or 
gray,  or  black,  or  spotted ;  but  their  hair  was  sleek  and  smooth 
and  their  broad  collars  and  caps  gave  them  a  neat,  if  whim- 
sical, appearance. 

"This  is  a  nice  way  to  welcome  visitors,  I  must  say  I"  re- 
marked the  shaggy  man,  in  a  reproachful  tone. 

"Oh,  we  did  not  mean  to  be  impolite,"  replied  a  grey 
donkey  which  had  not  spoken  before.    "But  you  were  not  ex- 

74 


The     City     of     Beasts 


pected,  nor  did  you  send  in  your  visiting  cards,  as  it  is  proper 
to  do." 

''There  is  some  truth  in  that,"  admitted  the  shaggy  man; 
"but,  now  you  are  informed  that  we  are  important  and  dis- 
tinguished travelers,  I  trust  you  will  accord  us  proper  consid- 
eration." 

These  big  words  delighted  the  donkeys,  and  made  them 
bow  to  the  shaggy  man  with  great  respect.    Said  the  grey  one : 

"You  shall  be  taken  before  his  great  and  glorious  Maj- 
esty King  Kik-a-bray,  who  will  greet  you  as  becomes  your 
exalted  stations." 

"That 's  right,"  answered  Dorothy.  "Take  us  to  some 
one  who  knows  something." 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"Oh,  we  all  know  something,  my  child,  or  we  should  n't 
be  donkeys,"  asserted  the  grey  one,  with  dignity.  "The  word 
'donkey'  means  'clever,'  you  know." 

"I  did  n't  know  it,"  she  replied.  "I  thought  it  meant 
'stupid'." 

"Not  at  all,  my  child.  If  you  will  look  in  the  Encyclo- 
pedia Donkaniara  you  will  find  I  'm  correct.  But  come;  I 
will  myself  lead  you  before  our  splendid,  exalted,  and  most 
intellectual  ruler." 

All  donkeys  love  big  words,  so  it  is  no  wonder  the  grey 
one  used  so  many  of  them. 


It 


THEY  found  the  houses  of  the  town  all  low  and  square  and 
built  of  bricks,  neatly  whitewashed  inside  and  out.  The 
houses  were  not  set  in  rows,  forming  regular  streets,  but 
placed  here  and  there  in  a  haphazard  manner  which  made  it 
puzzling  for  a  stranger  to  find  his  way. 

"Stupid  people  must  have  streets  and  numbered  houses 
in  their  cities,  to  guide  them  where  to  go,"  observed  the  grey 
donkey,  as  he  walked  before  the  visitors  on  his  hind  legs,  in 
an  awkward  but  comical  manner;  "but  clever  donkeys  know 
their  way  about  without  such  absurd  marks.  Moreover,  a 
mixed  city  is  much  prettier  than  one  with  straight  streets." 

77 


The     Road     to     Oz 

Dorothy  did  not  agree  with  this,  but  she  said  nothing  to 
contradict  it.  Presently  she  saw  a  sign  on  a  house  that  read : 
"Madam  de  Fayke,  Hoofist,"  and  she  asked  their  conductor: 

"What  's  a  'hoofist,'  please?" 

"One  who  reads  5^our  fortune  in  your  hoofs,"  replied  the 
grey  donkey. 

"Oh,  I  see,"  said  the  little  girl.  "You  are  quite  civilized 
here." 

"Dunkiton,"  he  replied,  "is  the  center  of  the  world's 
highest  civilization." 

They  came  to  a  house  where  two  youthful  donkeys  were 
whitewashing  the  wall,  and  Dorothy  stopped  a  moment  to 
watch  them.  They  dipped  the  ends  of  their  tails,  which  were 
much  like  paint-brushes,  into  a  pail  of  whitewash,  backed  up 
against  the  house,  and  wagged  their  tails  right  and  left  until 
the  whitewash  was  rubbed  on  the  wall,  after  which  they 
dipped  these  funny  brushes  in  the  pail  again  and  repeated  the 
performance. 

"That  must  be  fun,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"No;  it  's  work,"  replied  the  old  donkey;  "but  we  make 
our  youngsters  do  all  the  whitewashing,  to  keep  them  out  of 
mischief." 

"Don't  they  go  to  school'?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"All  donke3's  are  born  wise,"  was  the  reply,  "so  the  only 
school  we  need  is  the  school  of  experience.  Books  are  only  fit 

78 


The  Shaggy  Man's  Transformation 


for  those  who  know  nothing,  and  so  are  obliged  to  learn  things 
from  other  people." 

"In  other  words,  the  more  stupid  one  is  the  more  he  thinks 
he  knows,"  observed  the  shaggy  man.  The  grey  donkey  paid 
no  attention  to  this  speech  because  he  had  just  stopped  before 
a  house  which  had  painted  over  the  doorway  a  pair  of  hoofs, 
with  a  donkey  tail  between  them  and  a  rude  crown  and  sceptre 
above. 

"I  '11  see  if  his  magnificent  Majesty  King  Kik-a-bray  is 
at  home,"  said  he.  He  lifted  his  head  and  called  "Whee-haw ! 
whee-haw!  whee-haw!"  three  times,  in  a  shocking  voice,  turn- 
ing about  and  kicking  with  his  heels  against  the  panel  of  the 

79 


The     Road     to     Oz 

door.  For  a  time  there  was  no  reply;  then  the  door  opened 
far  enough  to  permit  a  donkey's  head  to  stick  out  and  look  at 
them. 

It  was  a  white  head,  with  big,  awful  ears  and  round,  sol- 
emn eyes. 

"Have  the  foxes  gone^"  it  asked,  in  a  trembling  voice. 

"They  have  n't  been  here,  most  stupendous  Majesty,"  re- 
plied the  grey  one.  "The  new  arrivals  prove  to  be  travelers 
of  distinction." 

"Oh,"  said  the  King,  in  a  relieved  tone  of  voice.  "Let 
them  come  in." 

He  opened  the  door  wide,  and  the  party  marched  into  a 
big  room,  which,  Dorothy  thought,  looked  quite  unlike  a 
king's  palace.  There  were  mats  of  woven  grasses  on  the  floor 
and  the  place  was  clean  and  neat;  but  his  Majesty  had  no 
other  furniture  at  all  —  perhaps  because  he  did  n't  need  it. 
He  squatted  down  in  the  center  of  the  room  and  a  little  brown 
donkey  ran  and  brought  a  big  gold  crown  which  it  placed  on 
the  monarch's  head,  and  a  golden  staff  with  a  jeweled  ball  at 
the  end  of  it,  which  the  King  held  between  his  front  hoofs  as 
he  sat  upright. 

"Now,  then,"  said  his  Majesty,  waving  his  long  ears 
gently  to  and  fro,  "tell  me  why  you  are  here,  and  what  you 
expect  me  to  do  for  you."     He  eyed  Button-Bright  rather 

80 


The  Shaggy  Man's  Transformation 

sharply,  as  if  afraid  of  the  little  boy's  queer  head,  though  it 
was  the  shaggy  man  who  undertook  to  reply. 

*'Most  noble  and  supreme  ruler  of  Dunkiton,"  he  said, 
trying  not  to  laugh  in  the  solemn  King's  face,  "we  are  stran- 
gers traveling  through  your  dominions,  and  have  entered  your 


magnificent  city  because  the  road  led  through  it,  and  there 
was  no  way  to  go  around.  All  we  desire  is  to  pay  our  respects 
to  your  Majesty  —  the  cleverest  king  in  all  the  world,  I  'm 
sure  —  and  then  to  continue  on  our  way." 

This  polite  speech  pleased  the  King  very  much;  indeed,  it 
pleased  him  so  much  that  it  proved  an  unlucky  speech  for  the 
shaggy  man.     Perhaps  the  Love  Magnet  helped  to  win  his 

81 


The     Road     to     Oz 

Majesty's  affection  as  well  as  the  flattery,  but  however  this 
may  be  the  white  donkey  looked  kindly  upon  the  speaker  and 
said : 

"Only  a  donkey  should  be  able  to  use  such  fine,  big  words, 
and  you  are  too  wise  and  admirable  in  all  ways  to  be  a  mere 
man.  Also  I  feel  that  I  love  you  as  well  as  I  do  my  own  fav- 
ored people,  so  I  will  bestow  upon  you  the  greatest  gift  with- 
in my  power  —  a  donkey's  head." 

As  he  spoke  he  waved  his  jeweled  staff.  Although  the 
shaggy  man  cried  out  and  tried  to  leap  backward  and  escape, 
it  proved  of  no  use.  Suddenly  his  own  head  was  gone  and  a 
donkey  head  appeared  in  its  place  —  a  brown,  shaggy  head 
so  absurd  and  droll  that  Dorothy  and  Polly  both  broke  into 
merry  laughter,  and  even  Button-Bright' s  fox  face  wore  a 
smile. 

"Dear  me  I  dear  me!"  cried  the  shaggy  man,  feeling  of  his 
shaggy  new  head  and  his  long  ears.  "What  a  misfortune  — 
what  a  great  misfortune!  Give  me  back  my  own  head,  you 
stupid  king  —  if  you  love  me  at  all!" 

"Don't  you  like  it'?"  asked  the  King,  surprised. 

"Hee-haw!  I  hate  it!  Take  it  away  —  quick!"  said  the 
shaggy  man. 

"But  I  can't  do  that,"  was  the  reply.  "'My  magic  works 
only  one  way.  I  can  <'/^  things,  but  I  can't  z/;?do  them.  You'll 
have  to  find  the  Truth  Pond,  and  bathe  in  its  water,  in  or- 

82 


83 


KING  KICK-A-BRAY  WORKS   MAGIC  ON  THE  SHAGGY  MAN 


The     Road     to     Oz 

der  to  get  back  your  own  head.  But  I  advise  you  not  to  do 
that.    This  head  is  much  more  beautiful  than  the  old  one." 

"That 's  a  matter  of  taste,"  said  Dorothy. 

''Where  is  the  Truth  Pond*?"  asked  the  shaggy  man,  earn- 
estly. 

''Somewhere  in  the  Land  of  Oz;  but  just  the  exact  loca- 
tion of  it  I  can  not  tell,"  was  the  answer. 

"Don't  worry.  Shaggy  Man,"  said  Dorothy,  smiling  be- 
cause her  friend  wagged  his  new  ears  so  comically.  "If  the 
Truth  Pond  is  in  Oz  we  '11  be  sure  to  iind  it  when  we  get 
there." 

"Oh!  Are  you  going  to  the  Land  of  OzT'  asked  King 
Kik-a-bray. 

"I  don't  know,"  she  replied;  "but  we  've  been  told  we  are 
nearer  the  Land  of  Oz  than  to  Kansas,  and  if  that  's  so  the 
quickest  way  for  me  to  get  home  is  to  find  Ozma." 

"Haw-haw!  Do  you  know  the  mighty  Princess  Ozma?" 
asked  the  King,  his  tone  both  surprised  and  eager. 

"  'Course  I  do;  she  's  my  friend,"  said  Dorothy. 

"Then  perhaps  you  '11  do  me  a  favor,"  continued  the  white 
donkey,  much  excited. 

"What  is  it?"  she  asked. 

"Perhaps  you  can  get  me  an  invitation  to  Princess  Ozma's 
birthday  celebration,  which  will  be  the  grandest  royal  func- 
tion ever  held  in  Fairyland.    I  'd  love  to  go." 

84 


The  Shaggy  Man's  Transformation 

"Hee-haw  I  You  deserve  punishment,  rather  than  reward, 
for  giving  me  this  dreadful  head,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  sor- 
rowfully. 

"I  wish  you  would  n't  say  'hee-haw'  so  much,"  Poly- 
chrome begged  him;  "it  makes  cold  chills  run  down  my  back." 

"But  I  can't  help  it,  my  dear;  my  donkey  head  wants  to 
bray  continually,"  he  replied.  "Does  n't  your  fox  head  want 
to  yelp  every  minute*?"  he  asked  Button-Bright. 

"Don't  know,"  said  the  boy,  still  staring  at  the  shaggy 
man's  ears.  These  seemed  to  interest  him  greatly,  and  the 
sight  also  made  him  forget  his  own  fox  head,  which  was  a  com- 
fort. 

"What  do  you  think,  Polly  *?  shall  I  promise  the  donkey 
king  an  invitation  to  Ozma's  party?'  asked  Dorothy  of  the 
Rainbow's  Daughter,  who  was  flitting  about  the  room  like  a 
sunbeam  because  she  could  never  keep  still. 

"Do  as  you  please,  dear,"  answered  Polychrome.  "He 
might  help  to  amuse  the  guests  of  the  Princess." 

"Then,  if  you  will  give  us  some  supper  and  a  place  to 
sleep  to-night,  and  let  us  get  started  on  our  journey  early  to- 
morrow morning,"  said  Dorothy  to  the  King,  "I  '11  ask  Ozma 
to  invite  you  —  if  I  happen  to  get  to  Oz." 

"Good!  Hee-haw  I  Excellent!"  cried  Kik-a-bray,  much 
pleased.     "You  shall  all  have  fine  suppers  and  good  beds. 

85 


The     Road     to     Oz 


What  food  would  you  prefer,  a  bran  mash  or  ripe  oats  in  the 
shell?' 

"Neither  one,"  replied  Dorothy,  promptly. 

"Perhaps  plain  hay,  or  some  sweet  juicy  grass  would  suit 
you  better,"  suggested  Kik-a-bray,  musingly. 

"Is  that  all  you  have  to  eat?'  asked  the  girl. 

"What  more  do  you  desire?' 

"Well,  you  see  we  're  not  donkeys,"  she  explained,  "and 
so  we  're  used  to  other  food.  The  foxes  gave  us  a  nice  sup- 
per in  Foxville." 

"We  'd  like  some  dewdrops  and  mist-cakes,"  said  Poly 
chrome. 

**I  'd  prefer  apples  and  a  ham  sandwich,"  declared  the 

86 


The  Shaggy  Man's  Transformation 

shaggy  man ;  "for  although  I  ' ve  a  donkey  head  I  still  have 
my  own  particular  stomach." 

"I  want  pie,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"I  think  some  beefsteak  and  chocolate  layer-cake  would 
taste  best,"  said  Dorothy. 

"Hee-haw  I  I  declare  I"  exclaimed  the  King.  "It  seems 
each  one  of  you  wants  a  different  food.  How  queer  all  liv- 
ing creatures  are,  except  donkeys  I" 

"And  donkeys  like  you  are  queerest  of  all,"  laughed 
Polychrome. 

"Well,"  decided  the  King,  "I  suppose  my  Magic  Staff 
will  produce  the  things  you  crave ;  if  you  are  lacking  in  good 
taste  it  is  not  my  fault," 

With  this  he  waved  his  staff  with  the  jeweled  ball,  and  be- 
fore them  instantly  appeared  a  tea-table,  set  with  linen  and 
pretty  dishes,  and  on  the  table  were  the  very  things  each  had 
wished  for.  Dorothy's  beefsteak  was  smoking  hot,  and  the 
shaggy  man's  apples  were  plump  and  rosy-cheeked.  The 
King  had  not  thought  to  provide  chairs,  so  they  all  stood  in 
their  places  around  the  table  and  ate  with  good  appetite,  be- 
ing hungry.  The  Rainbow's  Daughter  found  three  tiny  dew- 
drops  on  a  crystal  plate,  and  Button-Bright  had  a  big  slice  of 
apple-pie,  which  he  devoured  eagerly. 

Afterward  the  King  called  the  brown  donkey,  which  was 
his  favorite  servant,  and  bade  it  lead  his  guests  to  the  vacant 

87 


The     Road     to     Oz 


house  where  they  were  to  pass  the  night.  It  had  only  one  room 
and  no  furniture  except  beds  of  clean  straw  and  a  few  mats  of 
woven  grasses;  but  our  travelers  were  contented  with  these 
simple  things  because  they  realized  it  was  the  best  the 
Donkey-King  had  to  offer  them.  As  soon  as  it  was  dark  they 
lay  down  on  the  mats  and  slept  comfortably  until  morning. 

At  daybreak  there  was  a  dreadful  noise  throughout  the 
city.  Every  donkey  in  the  place  brayed.  When  he  heard  this 
the  shaggy  man  woke  up  and  called  out  "Hee-haw  I"  as  loud 
as  he  could. 

"Stop  that!"  said  Button-Bright,  in  a  cross  voice.  Both 
Dorothy  and  Polly  looked  at  the  shaggy  man  reproachfully. 


88 


The  Shaggy  Man's  Transformation 

"I  could  n't  help  it,  my  dears,"  he  said,  as  if  ashamed  of 
his  bray;  "but  I  '11  try  not  to  do  it  again." 

Of  course  they  forgave  him,  for  as  he  still  had  the  Love 
Magnet  in  his  pocket  they  were  all  obliged  to  love  him  as 
much  as  ever. 

They  did  not  see  the  King  again,  but  Kik-a-bray  remem- 
bered them;  for  a  table  appeared  again  in  their  room  with  the 
same  food  upon  it  as  on  the  night  before. 

"Don't  want  pie  for  breakfus',"  said  Button-Bright. 

"I  '11  give  you  some  of  my  beefsteak,"  proposed  Dorothy; 
"there's  plenty  for  us  all." 

That  suited  the  boy  better,  but  the  shaggy  man  said  he 
was  content  with  his  apples  and  sandwiches,  although  he 
ended  the  meal  by  eating  Button-Bright's  pie.  Polly  liked 
her  dewdrops  and  mist-cakes  better  than  any  other  food,  so 
they  all  enjoyed  an  excellent  breakfast.  Toto  had  the  scraps 
left  from  the  beefsteak,  and  he  stood  up  nicely  on  his  hind 
legs  while  Dorothy  fed  them  to  him. 

Breakfast  ended,  they  passed  through  the  village  to  the 
side  opposite  that  by  which  they  had  entered,  the  brown  ser- 
vant-donkey guiding  them  through  the  maze  of  scattered 
houses.  There  was  the  road  again,  leading  far  away  into  the 
unknown  country  beyond. 

"King  Kik-a-bray  says  you  must  not  forget  his  in  vita- 

89 


The     Road     to     Oz 

tion,"  said  the  brown  donkey,  as  they  passed  through  the 
opening  in  the  wall. 

"I  shan't/'  promised  Dorothy. 

Perhaps  no  one  ever  beheld  a  more  strangely  assorted 
group  than  the  one  which  now  walked  along  the  road,  through 
pretty  green  fields  and  past  groves  of  feathery  pepper-trees 


and  fragrant  mimosa.  Polychrome,  her  beautiful  gauzy 
robes  floating  around  her  like  a  rainbow  cloud,  went  first, 
dancing  back  and  forth  and  darting  now  here  to  pluck  a  wild- 
flower  or  there  to  watch  a  beetle  crawl  across  the  path.  Toto 
ran  after  her  at  times,  barking  joyously  the  while,  only  to  be- 
come sober  again  and  trot  along  at  Dorothy's  heels.  The 
little  Kansas  girl  walked  holding  Button-Bright's  hand 
clasped  in  her  own,  and  the  wee  boy  with  his  fox  head  cov- 
ered by  the  sailor  hat  presented  an  odd  appearance.  Strang- 

« >'  • 


The  Shaggy  Man's  Transformation 

est  of  all,  perhaps,  was  the  shaggy  man,  with  his  shaggy  don- 
key head,  who  shuffled  along  in  the  rear  with  his  hands  thrust 
deep  in  his  big  pockets. 

None  of  the  party  was  really  unhappy.  All  were  straying 
in  an  unknown  land  and  had  suffered  more  or  less  annoyance 
and  discomfort;  but  they  realized  they  were  having  a  fairy 
adventure  in  a  fairy  country,  and  were  much  interested  in 
finding  out  what  would  happen  next. 


Qi 


ABOUT  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  they  began  to  go  up  a 
long  hill.  By-and-by  this  hill  suddenly  dropped  down  into  a 
pretty  valley,  where  the  travelers  saw  to  their  surprise,  a 
small  house  standing  by  the  road-side. 

It  was  the  first  house  they  had  seen,  and  they  hastened 
into  the  valley  to  discover  who  lived  there.  No  one  was  in 
sight  as  they  approached,  but  when  they  began  to  get  nearer 
the  house  they  heard  queer  sounds  coming  from  it.  They 
could  not  make  these  out  at  first,  but  as  they  became  louder 
our  friends  thought  they  heard  a  sort  of  music  like  that  made 
by  a  wheezy  hand-organ ;  the  music  fell  upon  their  ears  in  this 
way:  92 


The     Musicker 


T^  id  dle-wid  die-id  die  ^  oom  pom-pom! 

Oom^  pom-pom!  oom,  pom-pom! 
^iddle-tiddle-tiddle,  oom  pom-pom! 
Oom,  pom-pom  —  pah! 

"What  is  it,  a  band  or  a  mouth-organ^"  asked  Dorothy. 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"Sounds  to  me  like  a  played-out  phonograph,"  said  the 
shaggy  man,  lifting  his  enormous  ears  to  listen. 

"Oh,  there  just  could  n't  be  a  funnygraf  in  Fairyland  I" 
cried  Dorothy. 

"It 's  rather  pretty,  is  n't  it?"  asked  Polychrome,  trying  to 
dance  to  the  strains, 

^iddle-widdle-iddle,  oom  pom-pom, 
Oom  pom-pom;  oom  pom-pom! 

came  the  music  to  their  ears,  more  distinctly  as  they  drew 
nearer  the  house.  Presently  they  saw  a  little  fat  man  sitting 
on  a  bench  before  the  door.  He  wore  a  red,  braided  jacket 
that  reached  to  his  waist,  a  blue  waistcoat,  and  white  trousers 
with  gold  stripes  down  the  sides.  On  his  bald  head  was 
perched  a  little,  round,  red  cap  held  in  place  by  a  rubber  elas- 
tic underneath  his  chin.  His  face  was  round,  his  eyes  a  faded 
blue,  and  he  wore  white  cotton  gloves.    The  man  leaned  on  a 

9% 


The     Road     to     Oz 


stout  gold-headed  cane,  bending  forward  on  his  seat  to  watch 
his  visitors  approach. 

Singularly  enough,  the  musical  sounds  they  had  heard 
seemed  to  come  from  the  inside  of  the  fat  man  himself;  for 
he  was  playing  no  instrument  nor  was  any  to  be  seen  near 
him. 

They  came  up  and  stood  in  a  row,  staring  at  him,  and  he 
stared  back  while  the  queer  sounds  came  from  him  as  before : 

TUddle-iddle-iddle,  oom  pom-pom^ 

Oom^  pom-pom;  oom  pom-pom! 
liiddle-widdle-iddle^  oom  pom-pom^ 

Oom^  pom-pom  —  pah! 

94 


The     Musicker 


"Why,  he  's  a  reg'lar  musicker  I"  said  Button-Bright. 
"What 's  a  musicker?"  asked  Dorothy. 
"Him!"  said  the  boy. 

Hearing  this  the  fat  man  sat  up  a  little  stiffer  than  before, 
as  if  he  had  received  a  compliment,  and  still  came  the  sounds: 

Tiddle-widdle-iddle,  oom  pom'pom^ 
Oom  pom-pom^  oom 

"Stop  it  I"  cried  the  shaggy  man,  earnestly.  "Stop  that 
dreadful  noise!" 

The  fat  man  looked  at  him  sadly  and  began  his  reply. 
When  he  spoke  the  music  changed  and  the  words  seemed  to 
accompany  the  notes.  He  said  —  or  rather  sang : 

//  is  n't  a  noise  that  you  hear^ 
But  Music,  harmonic  and  clear. 

My  breath  makes  me  play 

Like  an  organ,  all  day  — 
T^hat  bass  note  is  in  my  left  ear, 

"How  funny!"  exclaimed  Dorothy;  "he  says  his  breath 
makes  the  music." 

"That 's  all  nonsense,"  declared  the  shaggy  man ;  but  now 
the  music  began  again,  and  they  all  listened  carefully. 

95 


The     Road     to     Oz 


My  lungs  are  full  of  reeds  like  those 
In  organs^  therefore  I  suppose, 
If  I  breathe  in  or  out  my  nose, 
^he  reeds  are  hound  to  play. 

So,  as  I  breathe  to  live,  you  know^ 
I  squeeze  out  music  as  I  go; 

I  'm  very  sorry  this  is  so 

Forgive  my  piping,  pray! 


*Toor  man,"  said  Polychrome;  "he  can't  help  it.  What  a 
great  misfortune  it  is!" 

"Yes,"  replied  the  shaggy  man;  "we  are  only  obliged  to 
hear  this  music  a  short  time,  until  we  leave  him  and  go  away; 

96 


The     Musicker 


but  the  poor  fellow  must  listen  to  himself  as  long  as  he  lives, 
and  that  is  enough  to  drive  him  crazy.  Don't  you  think  so'?" 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright.  Toto  said  "Bow- 
wow I"  and  the  others  laughed. 

"Perhaps  that 's  why  he  lives  all  alone,"  suggested  Doro-= 
thy. 

"Yes;  if  he  had  neighbors  they  might  do  him  an  injury," 
responded  the  shaggy  man. 

All  this  while  the  little  fat  musicker  was  breathing  the 
notes : 

l^iddle-tiddle-iddle^  oom,  pom-pom^ 

and  they  had  to  speak  loud  in  order  to  hear  themselves.  The 
shaggy  man  said : 

"Who  are  you,  sir^" 

The  reply  came  in  the  shape  of  this  sing-song : 

Fm  Allegro  da  Capo,  a  very  famous  man; 
Just  find  another,  high  or  low,  to  match  me  if  you  can. 
Some  people  try,  but  can't,  to  play 
And  have  to  practice  every  day; 
But  I  've  been  musical  alway,  since  first  my  life  began, 

"Why,  I  b  'lieve  he  's  proud  of  it,"  exclaimed  Dorothy 
"and  seems  to  me  I  've  heard  worse  music  than  he  makes/' 

97 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"Where?"  asked  Button-Bright. 

"I  Ve  forgotten,  just  now.  But  Mr.  Da  Capo  is  certainly 
4  strange  person  —  is  n't  he  ?  —  and  p'r'aps  he  's  the  only  one 
of  his  kind  in  all  the  world." 

This  praise  seemed  to  please  the  little  fat  musicker,  for 
he  swelled  out  his  chest,  looked  important  and  sang  as  fol' 
lows : 

/  wear  no  band  around  me^ 

And  yet  I  am  a  band! 
I  do  not  strain  to  make  my  strains 

But^  on  the  other  hand^ 
My  toot  is  always  destitute 
Of  flats  or  other  errors; 
*To  see  sharp  and  be  natural  are 
For  me  but  minor  terrors, 

"I  don't  quite  understand  that,"  said  Polychrome,  with  a 
puzzled  look;  "but  perhaps  it 's  because  I  'm  accustomed  only 
to  the  music  of  the  spheres." 

"What 's  that?"  asked  Button-Bright. 

"Oh,  Polly  means  the  atmosphere  and  hemisphere,  I 
s'pose,"  explained  Dorothy. 

"Oh,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"Bow-wow  I"  said  Toto. 

98 


The     Musicker 


But  the  musicker  was  still  breathing  his  constant 

Oom^  pom-pom;  oom^  pom-pom 

and  it  seemed  to  jar  on  the  shaggy  man's  nerves. 

"Stop  it,  can't  you?"  he  cried,  angrily;  "or  breathe  in  a 
whisper;  or  put  a  clothes-pin  on  your  nose.  Do  something, 
anyhow!" 

But  the  fat  one,  with  a  sad  look,  sang  this  answer : 

Music  hath  charms^  and  it  may 
Soothe  even  the  savage,  they  say; 

So  if  savage  you  feel 

Just  list  to  my  reel. 
For  sooth  to  say  that 's  the  real  way** 

99 


The     Road     to     Oz 

The  shaggy  man  had  to  laugh  at  this,  and  when  he  laughed 
he  stretched  his  donkey  mouth  wide  open.  Said  Dorothy : 

*T  don't  know  how  good  his  poetry  is,  but  it  seems  to  fit 
the  notes,  so  that 's  all  that  can  be  'xpected." 

*T  like  it,"  said  Button-Bright,  who  was  staring  hard  at 
the  musicker,  his  little  legs  spread  wide  apart.  To  the  sur- 
prise of  his  companions,  the  boy  asked  this  long  question : 

*Tf  I  swallowed  a  mouth-organ,  what  would  I  be?" 

"An  organette,"  said  the  shaggy  man.  "But  come,  my 
dears;  I  think  the  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  continue  on  our 
journey  before  Button-Bright  swallows  anything.  We  must 
try  to  find  that  Land  of  Oz,  you  know." 

Hearing  this  speech  the  musicker  sang,  quickly: 

If  you  go  to  the  Land  of  Oz 
Please  take  me  along ^  because 

On  Ozma's  birthday 

I  'm  anxious  to  play 
T^he  loveliest  song  ever  was, 

"No,  thank  you,"  said  Dorothy;  "we  prefer  to  travel 
alone.  But  if  I  see  Ozma  I  '11  tell  her  you  want  to  come  to 
her  birthday  party." 

"Let 's  be  going,"  urged  the  shaggy  man,  anxiously. 

Polly  was  already  dancing  along  the  road,  far  in  advance, 

100 


The     Musick 


e  r 


and  the  others  turned  to  follow  her.  Toto  did  not  like  the  fat 
musicker  and  made  a  grab  for  his  chubby  leg.  Dorothy  quick- 
ly caught  up  the  growling  little  dog  and  hurried  after  her  com- 
panions, who  were  walking  faster  than  usual  in  order  to  get 
out  of  hearing.  They  had  to  climb  a  hill,  and  until  they  got 
to  the  top  they  could  not  escape  the  musicker's  monotonous 
piping: 

Oom^  pom-pom;  oom^  pom-pom; 

lUddle-iddle-wtddle^  oom,  pom-pom; 

Oom^  pom-pom  —  pahr 

As  they  passed  the  brow  of  the  hill,  however,  and  descend- 
ed on  the  other  side,  the  sounds  gradually  died  away,  whereat 
they  all  felt  much  relieved. 


lOI 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"I  'm  glad  I  don't  have  to  live  with  the  organ-man; 
are  n't  you,  Polly?"  said  Dorothy. 

**Yes,  indeed,"  answered  the  Rainbow's  Daughter. 

"He  's  nice,"  declared  Button-Bright,  soberly. 

"I  hope  your  Princess  Ozma  won't  invite  him  to  her  birth- 
day celebration,"  remarked  the  shaggy  man;  "for  the  fellow's 
music  would  drive  her  guests  all  crazy.  You  've  given  me  an 
idea,  Button-Bright;  I  believe  the  musicker  must  have  swal- 
lowed an  accordeon  in  his  youth." 

"What 's  'cordeon?"  asked  the  boy. 

"It  's  a  kind  of  pleating,"  explained  Dorothy,  putting 
down  the  dog. 

"Bow-wow  I"  said  Toto,  and  ran  away  at  a  mad  gallop  to 
chase  a  bumble-bee. 


102 


THE  country  was  n't  so  pretty  now.  Before  the  travelers 
appeared  a  rocky  plain  covered  with  hills  on  which  grew  noth- 
ing green.  They  were  nearing  some  low  mountains,  too,  and 
the  road,  which  before  had  been  smooth  and  pleasant  to  walk 
upon,  grew  rough  and  uneven. 

Button-Bright's  little  feet  stumbled  more  than  once,  and 
Polychrome  ceased  her  dancing  because  the  walking  was  now 
so  difficult  that  she  had  no  trouble  to  keep  warm. 

It  had  become  afternoon,  yet  there  was  n't  a  thing  for  their 
luncheon  except  two  apples  which  the  shaggy  man  had  taken 
from  the  breakfast  table.    He  divided  these  into  four  pieces 

103 


The     Road     to     Oz 


and  gave  a  portion  to  each  of  his  companions.  Dorothy  and 
Button-Bright  were  glad  to  get  theirs ;  but  Polly  was  satisfied 
with  a  small  bite,  and  Toto  did  not  like  apples. 

"Do  you  know,"  asked  the  Rainbow's  Daughter,  "if  this 
is  the  right  road  to  the  Emerald  City?" 

"No,  I  don't,"  replied  Dorothy;  "but  it 's  the  only  road  in 
this  part  of  the  country,  so  we  may  as  well  go  to  the  end  of  it." 

"It  looks  now  as  if  it  might  end  pretty  soon,"  remarked 
the  shaggy  man;  "and  what  shall  we  do  if  it  does?" 
"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"If  I  had  my  Magic  Belt,"  replied  Dorothy,  thoughtfully, 
"it  could  do  us  a  lot  of  good  just  now." 

"What  is  your  Magic  Belt?"  asked  Polychrome. 

"It 's  a  thing  I  captured  from  the  Nome  King  one  day, 
and  it  can  do  'most  any  wonderful  thing.  But  I  left  it  with 
Ozma,  you  know;  'cause  magic  won't  work  in  Kansas,  but 
only  in  fairy  countries." 

"Is  this  a  fairy  country?"  asked  Button-Bright. 
"I  should  think  you  'd  know,"  said  the  little  girl,  gravely. 
"If  it  was  n't  a  fairy  country  you  could  n't  have  a  fox  head 
and  the  shaggy  man  could  n't  have  a  donkey  head,  and  the 
Rainbow's  Daughter  would  be  invis'ble." 

"What 's  that?"  asked  the  boy. 

"You  don't  seem  to  know  anything,  Button-Bright.  Invis- 
'ble is  a  thing  you  can't  see." 

104 


Facing    the    Scoodlers 

"Then  Toto  's  invisible,"  declared  the  boy,  and  Dorothy 
found  he  was  right.  Toto  had  disappeared  from  view,  but 
they  could  hear  him  barking  furiously  among  the  heaps  of 
grey  rock  ahead  of  them. 

They  moved  forward  a  little  faster  to  see  what  the  dog 


was  barking  at,  and  found  perched  upon  a  point  of  rock  by  the 
roadside  a  curious  creature.  It  had  the  form  of  a  man,  mid- 
dle-sized and  rather  slender  and  graceful ;  but  as  it  sat  silent 
and  motionless  upon  the  peak  they  could  see  that  its  face  was 
black  as  ink,  and  it  wore  a  black  cloth  costume  made  like  a 
union  suit  and  fitting  tight  to  its  skin.  Its  hands  were  black, 
too,  and  its  toes  curled  down,  like  a  bird's.  The  creature  was 
black  all  over  except  its  hair,  which  was  fine,  and  yellow, 

105 


The     Road     to     Oz 

banged  in  front  across  the  black  forehead  and  cut  close  at  the 
sides.  The  eyes,  which  were  fixed  steadily  upon  the  barking 
dog,  were  small  and  sparkling  and  looked  like  the  eyes  of  a 
weasel. 

"What  in  the  world  do  you  s'pose  that  is?"  asked  Dorothy 
in  a  hushed  voice,  as  the  little  group  of  travelers  stood  watch- 
ing the  strange  creature. 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 

The  thing  gave  a  jump  and  turned  half  around,  sitting  in 
the  same  place  but  with  the  other  side  of  its  body  facing  them. 
Instead  of  being  black,  it  was  now  pure  white,  with  a  face  like 
that  of  a  clown  in  a  circus  and  hair  of  a  brilliant  purple.  The 
creature  could  bend  either  way,  and  its  white  toes  now  curled 
the  same  way  the  black  ones  on  the  other  side  had  done. 

"It  has  a  face  both  front  and  back,"  whispered  Dorothy, 
wonderingly;  "only  there  's  no  back  at  all,  but  two  fronts." 

Having  made  the  turn,  the  being  sat  motionless  as  before, 
while  Toto  barked  louder  at  the  white  man  than  he  had  done 
at  the  black  one. 

"Once,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  "I  had  a  jumping-jack  like 
that,  with  two  faces." 

"Was  it  alive  *?"  asked  Button-Bright. 

"No,"  replied  the  shaggy  man;  "it  worked  on  strings,  and 
was  made  of  wood." 

"Wonder  if  this  works  with  strings,"  said  Dorothy;  but 

106 


Facing    the    Scoodlers 


Polychrome  cried  ''Look  I"  for  another  creature  just  like  the 
first  had  suddenly  appeared  sitting  on  another  rock,  its  black 
side  toward  them.  The  two  twisted  their  heads  around  and 
showed  a  black  face  on  the  white  side  of  one  and  a  white  face 
on  the  black  side  of  the  other. 

"How  curious,"  said  Polychrome;  "and  how  loose  their 
heads  seem  to  be  I  Are  they  friendly  to  us,  do  you  think?" 
"Can't  tell,  Polly,"  replied  Dorothy.  "Let 's  ask  'em." 
The  creatures  flopped  first  one  way  and  then  the  other, 
showing  black  or  white  by  turns;  and  now  another  joined 
them,  appearing  on  another  rock.  Our  friends  had  come  to  a 
little  hollow  in  the  hills,  and  the  place  where  they  now  stood 

107 


The     Road     to     Oz 

was  surrounded  by  jagged  peaks  of  rock,  except  where  the 
road  ran  through. 

"Now  there  are  four  of  them,"  said  the  shaggy  man. 

"Five,"  declared  Polychrome. 

"Six,"  said  Dorothy. 

"Lots  of  'em I"  cried  Button-Bright;  and  so  there  were — 
quite  a  row  of  the  two-sided  black  and  white  creatures  sitting 
on  the  rocks  all  around. 

Toto  stopped  barking  and  ran  between  Dorothy's  feet, 
where  he  crouched  down  as  if  afraid.  The  creatures  did  not 
look  pleasant  or  friendly,  to  be  sure,  and  the  shaggy  man's 
donkey  face  became  solemn,  indeed. 

"Ask  'em  who  they  are,  and  what  they  want,"  whispered 
Dorothy ;  so  the  shaggy  man  called  out  in  a  loud  voice : 

"Who  are  you^" 

"Scoodlers  I"  they  yelled  in  chorus,  their  voices  sharp  and 
shrill. 

"What  do  you  want?"  called  the  shaggy  man, 

"You  I"  they  yelled,  pointing  their  thin  fingers  at  the 
group;  and  they  all  flopped  around,  so  they  were  white,  and 
then  all  flopped  back  again,  so  they  were  black. 

"But  what  do  you  want  us  for?"  asked  the  shaggy  man, 
uneasily. 

"Soup!"  they  all  shouted,  as  if  with  one  voice. 

108 


I09 


-YOU!"  THEY  YELLED 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"Goodness  me  I"  said  Dorothy,  trembling  a  little;  "the 
Scoodlers  must  be  reg'lar  cannibals." 

"Don't  want  to  be  soup,"  protested  Button-Bright,  be- 
ginning to  cry. 

"Hush,  dear,"  said  the  little  girl,  trying  to  comfort  him; 
"we  don't  any  of  us  want  to  be  soup.  But  don't  worry;  the 
shaggy  man  will  take  care  of  us." 

"Will  he'?"  asked  Polychrome,  who  did  not  like  the  Scood- 
lers at  all,  and  kept  close  to  Dorothy. 

"I  '11  try,"  promised  the  shaggy  man;  but  he  looked  wor- 
ried. 

Happening  just  then  to  feel  the  Love  Magnet  in  his 
pocket,  he  said  to  the  creatures,  with  more  confidence : 

"Don't  you  love  me?" 

"Yes!"  they  shouted,  all  together. 

"Then  you  must  n't  harm  me,  or  my  friends,"  said  the 
shaggy  man,  firmly. 

"We  love  you  in  soup!"  they  yelled,  and  in  a  flash  turned 
their  white  sides  to  the  front. 

"How  dreadful!"  said  Dorothy.  "This  is  a  time,  Shaggy 
Man,  when  you  get  loved  too  much." 

"Don't  want  to  be  soup!"  wailed  Button-Bright  again; 
and  Toto  began  to  whine  dismally,  as  if  he  did  n't  want  to  be 
soup,  either. 

"The  only  thing  to  do,"  said  the  shaggy  man  to  his  friends, 

110 


Facing      the    Scoodlers 

in  a  low  tone,  *'is  to  get  out  of  this  pocket  in  the  rocks  as  soon 
as  we  can,  and  leave  the  Scoodlers  behind  us.  Follow  me,  my 
dears,  and  don't  pay  any  attention  to  what  they  do  or  say." 

With  this  he  began  to  march  along  the  road  to  the  opening 
in  the  rocks  ahead,  and  the  others  kept  close  behind  him.  But 
the  Scoodlers  closed  up  in  front,  as  if  to  bar  their  way,  and  so 
the  shaggy  man  stooped  down  and  picked  up  a  loose  stone, 
which  he  threw  at  the  creatures  to  scare  them  from  the  path. 

At  this  the  Scoodlers  raised  a  howl.  Two  of  them  picked 
their  heads  from  their  shoulders  and  hurled  them  at  the 
shaggy  man  with  such  force  that  he  fell  over  in  a  heap,  greatly 
astonished.  The  two  now  ran  forward  with  swift  leaps,  caught 
up  their  heads,  and  put  them  on  again,  after  which  they 
sprang  back  to  their  positions  on  the  rocks. 


ill 


THE  shaggy  man  got  up  and  felt  of  himself  to  see  if  he  was 
hurt;  but  he  was  not.  One  of  the  heads  had  struck  his  breast 
and  the  other  his  left  shoulder;  yet  though  they  had  knocked 
him  down  the  heads  were  not  hard  enough  to  bruise  him. 

"Come  on,"  he  said,  firmly;  "we  Ve  got  to  get  out  of  here 
some  way,'*  and  forward  he  started  again. 

The  Scoodlers  began  yelling  and  throwing  their  heads  in 
great  numbers  at  our  frightened  friends.  The  shaggy  man 
was  knocked  over  again,  and  so  was  Button-Bright,  who 
kicked  his  heels  against  the  ground  and  howled  as  loud  as  he 
could,  although  he  was  not  hurt  a  bit.  One  head  struck  Toto, 

112 


Escaping  the  Soup-Kettle 

who  first  yelped  and  then  grabbed  the  head  by  an  ear  and 
started  running  away  with  it. 

The  Scoodlers  who  had  thrown  their  heads  began  to 
scramble  down  and  run  to  pick  them  up,  with  wonderful 
quickness;  but  the  one  whose  head  Toto  had  stolen  found  it 
hard  to  get  it  back  again.  The  head  could  n't  see  the  body 
with  either  pair  of  its  eyes,  because  the  dog  was  in  the  way,  so 
the  headless  Scoodler  stumbled  around  over  the  rocks  and 
tripped  on  them  more  than  once  in  its  effort  to  regain  its  top. 
Toto  was  trying  to  get  outside  the  rocks  and  roll  the  head 
down  the  hill ;  but  some  of  the  other  Scoodlers  came  to  the  res- 
cue of  their  unfortunate  comrade  and  pelted  the  dog  with 
their  own  heads  until  he  was  obliged  to  drop  his  burden  and 
hurry  back  to  Dorothy. 

The  little  girl  and  the  Rainbow's  Daughter  had  both  es- 
caped the  shower  of  heads,  but  they  saw  now  that  it  would  be 
useless  to  try  to  run  away  from  the  dreadful  Scoodlers. 

"We  may  as  well  submit,"  declared  the  shaggy  man,  in  a 
rueful  voice,  as  he  got  upon  his  feet  again.  He  turned  to- 
ward their  foes  and  asked  : 

"What  do  you  want  us  to  do?" 

"Gomel"  they  cried,  in  a  triumphant  chorus,  and  at  once 
sprang  from  the  rocks  and  surrounded  their  captives  on  all 
sides.  One  funny  thing  about  the  Scoodlers  was  they  could 
walk  in  either  direction,  coming  or  going,  without  turning 

113 


The     Road     to     Oz 


around ;  because  they  had  two  faces  and,  as  Dorothy  said, 
"two  front  sides,"  and  their  feet  were  shaped  like  the  letter 
T  upside  down  (X)  •  They  moved  with  great  rapidity  and 
there  was  something  about  their  glittering  eyes  and  contrast- 
ing colors  and  removable  heads  that  inspired  the  poor  pris- 
oners with  horror,  and  made  them  long  to  escape. 

But  the  creatures  led  their  captives  away  from  the  rocks 
and  the  road,  down  the  hill  by  a  side  path  until  they  came  be- 
fore a  low  mountain  of  rock  that  looked  like  a  huge  bowl 
turned  upside  down.  At  the  edge  of  this  mountain  was  a 
deep  gulf  —  so  deep  that  when  you  looked  into  it  there  was 
nothing  but  blackness  below.    Across  the  gulf  was  a  narrow 

114 


Escaping   the    Soup-Kettle 

bridge  of  rock,  and  at  the  other  end  of  the  bridge  was  an 
arched  opening  that  led  into  the  mountain. 

Over  this  bridge  the  Scoodlers  led  their  prisoners,  through 
the  opening  into  the  mountain,  which  they  found  to  be  an  im- 
mense hollow  dome  lighted  by  several  holes  in  the  roof.  All 
around  the  circular  space  were  built  rock  houses,  set  close  to- 
gether, each  with  a  door  in  the  front  wall.  None  of  these 
houses  was  more  than  six  feet  wide,  but  the  Scoodlers  were 
thin  people  sidewise  and  did  not  need  much  room.  So  vast 
was  the  dome  that  there  was  a  large  space  in  the  middle  of 
the  cave,  in  front  of  all  these  houses,  where  the  creatures 
might  congregate  as  in  a  great  hall. 

It  made  Dorothy  shudder  to  see  a  huge  iron  kettle  sus- 
pended by  a  stout  chain  in  the  middle  of  the  place,  and  un- 
derneath the  kettle  a  great  heap  of  kindling  wood  and  shav- 
ings, ready  to  light. 

''What 's  that*?"  asked  the  shaggy  man,  drawing  back  as 
they  approached  this  place,  so  that  they  were  forced  to  push 
him  forward. 

"The  Soup  Kettle  I"  yelled  the  Scoodlers;  and  then  they 
shouted  in  the  next  breath : 

"We  're  hungry!" 

Button-Bright,  holding  Dorothy's  hand  in  one  chubby 
fist  and  Polly's  hand  in  the  other,  was  so  affected  by  this  shout 
that  he  began  to  cry  again,  repeating  the  protest: 

115 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"Don't  want  to  be  soup,  I  don't!" 

"Never  mind,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  consolingly;  "I 
ought  to  make  enough  soup  to  feed  them  all,  I  'm  so  big;  so 
I  '11  ask  them  to  put  me  in  the  kettle  first." 

"All  right,"  said  Button-Bright,  more  cheerfully. 

But  the  Scoodlers  were  not  ready  to  make  soup  yet.  They 
led  the  captives  into  a  house  at  the  farthest  side  of  the  cave 
—  a  house  somewhat  wider  than  the  others. 

"Who  lives  here?"  asked  the  Rainbow's  Daughter.  The 
Scoodlers  nearest  her  replied : 

"The  Queen." 

It  made  Dorothy  hopeful  to  learn  that  a  woman  ruled 
over  these  fierce  creatures,  but  a  moment  later  they  were  ush- 
ered by  two  or  three  of  the  escort  into  a  gloomy,  bare  room  — 
and  her  hope  died  away. 

For  the  Queen  of  the  Scoodlers  proved  to  be  much  more 
dreadful  in  appearance  than  any  of  her  people.  One  side  of 
her  was  fiery  red,  with  jet-black  hair  and  green  eyes  and  the 
other  side  of  her  was  bright  yellow,  with  crimson  hair  and 
black  eyes.  She  wore  a  short  skirt  of  red  and  yellow  and  her 
hair,  instead  of  being  banged,  was  a  tangle  of  short  curls  upon 
which  rested  a  circular  crown  of  silver  —  much  dented  and 
twisted  because  the  Queen  had  thrown  her  head  at  so  many 
things  so  many  times.  Her  form  was  lean  and  bony  and  both 
her  faces  were  deeply  wrinkled. 

116 


Escaping   the    Soup-Kettle 

"What  have  we  here?"  asked  the  Queen,  sharply,  as  our 
friends  were  made  to  stand  before  her. 

"Soup  I"  cried  the  guard  of  Scoodlers,  speaking  together. 

"We  're  not!"  said  Dorothy,  indignantly;  "we  're  nothing 
of  the  sort." 


"Ah,  but  you  will  be  soon,"  retorted  the  Queen,  a  grim 
smile  making  her  look  more  dreadful  than  before. 

"Pardon  me,  most  beautiful  vision,"  said  the  shaggy  man, 
bowing  before  the  queen  politely.  "I  must  request  your  Se- 
rene Highness  to  let  us  go  our  way  without  being  made  into 
soup.  For  I  own  the  Love  Magnet,  and  whoever  meets  me 
must  love  me  and  all  my  friends." 

"True,"  replied  the  Queen.  "We  love  you  very  much;  so 


^^7 


The     Road     to     Oz 

much  that  we  intend  to  eat  your  broth  with  real  pleasure. 
But  tell  me,  do  you  think  I  am  so  beautiful*?" 

"You  won't  be  at  all  beautiful  if  you  eat  me,"  he  said, 
shaking  his  head  sadly.  "Handsome  is  as  handsome  does,  you 
know." 

The  Queen  turned  to  Button-Bright. 

"Do  you  think  I  'm  beautiful  *?"  she  asked. 

"No,"  said  the  boy;  "you  're  ugly." 

"/  think  you  're  a  fright,"  said  Dorothy. 

"If  you  could  see  yourself  you  'd  be  terribly  scared,"  ad- 
ded Polly. 

The  Queen  scowled  at  them  and  flopped  from  her  red 
side  to  her  yellow  side. 

"Take  them  away,"  she  commanded  the  guard,  "and  at  six 
o'clock  run  them  through  the  meat  chopper  and  start  the  soup 
kettle  boiling.  And  put  plenty  of  salt  in  the  broth  this  time, 
or  I  '11  punish  the  cooks  severely." 

"Any  onions,  your  Majesty  *?"  asked  one  of  the  guard. 

"Plenty  of  onions  and  garlic  and  a  dash  of  red  pepper. 
Now,  go  I" 

The  Scoodlers  led  the  captives  away  and  shut  them  up  in 
one  of  the  houses,  leaving  only  a  single  Scoodler  to  keep 
guard. 

The  place  was  a  sort  of  store-house;  containing  bags  of 
potatoes  and  baskets  of  carrots,  onions,  and  turnips. 

118 


Escaping    the    Soup-Kettle 

*These,"  said  their  guard,  pointing  to  the  vegetables,  "we 
use  to  flavor  our  soups  with." 

The  prisoners  were  rather  disheartened  by  this  time,  for 
they  saw  no  way  to  escape  and  did  not  know  how  soon  it 
would  be  six  o'clock  and  time  for  the  meat-chopper  to  begin 
woi  k.  But  the  shaggy  man  was  brave  and  did  not  intend  to 
submit  to  such  a  horrid  fate  without  a  struggle. 

"I  'm  going  to  fight  for  our  lives,"  he  whispered  to  the 
children,  "for  if  I  fail  we  will  be  no  worse  off  than  before,  and 
to  sit  here  quietly  until  we  are  made  into  soup  would  be  fool- 
ish and  cowardly." 

The  Scoodler  on  guard  stood  near  the  doorway,  turning 


The    Road     to     Oz 

first  his  white  side  toward  them  and  then  his  black  side,  as  if 
he  wanted  to  show  to  all  of  his  greedy  four  eyes  the  sight  of  so 
many  fat  prisoners.  The  captives  sat  in  a  sorrowful  group  at 
the  other  end  of  the  room  —  except  Polychrome,  who  danced 
back  and  forth  in  the  little  place  to  keep  herself  warm,  for 
she  felt  the  chill  of  the  cave.  Whenever  she  approached  the 
shaggy  man  he  would  whisper  something  in  her  ear,  and  Polly 
would  nod  her  pretty  head  as  if  she  understood. 

The  shaggy  man  told  Dorothy  and  Button-Bright  to  stand 
before  him  while  he  emptied  the  potatoes  out  of  one  of  the 
sacks.  When  this  had  been  secretly  done  little  Polychrome, 
dancing  near  to  the  guard,  suddenly  reached  out  her  hand 
and  slapped  his  face,  the  next  instant  whirling  away  from  him 
quickly  to  rejoin  her  friends. 

The  angry  Scoodler  at  once  picked  off  his  head  and  hurled 
it  at  the  Rainbow's  Daughter ;  but  the  shaggy  man  was  expect- 
ing that,  and  caught  the  head  very  neatly,  putting  it  in  the 
sack,  which  he  tied  at  the  mouth.  The  body  of  the  guard,  not 
having  the  eyes  of  its  head  to  guide  it,  ran  here  and  there  in 
an  aimless  manner,  and  the  shaggy  man  easily  dodged  it  and 
opened  the  door.  Fortunately  there  was  no  one  in  the  big 
cave  at  that  moment,  so  he  told  Dorothy  and  Polly  to  run  as 
fast  as  they  could  for  the  entrance,  and  out  across  the  narrow 
bridge. 

120 


THE  SHAGGY  MAN  CAUGHT  THE  HEADS  AND  TOSSED  THEM  INTO  THE  GULF 

BEIOW 

\7\ 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"I  '11  carry  Button-Bright,"  he  said,  for  he  knew  the  lit- 
tle boy's  legs  were  too  short  to  run  fast. 

Dorothy  picked  up  Toto,  and  then  seized  Polly's  hand 
and  ran  swiftly  toward  the  entrance  to  the  cave.  The  shaggy 
man  perched  Button-Bright  on  his  shoulders  and  ran  after 
them.  They  moved  so  quickly  and  their  escape  was  so  wholly 
unexpected  that  they  had  almost  reached  the  bridge  when  one 
of  the  Scoodlers  looked  out  of  his  house  and  saw  them. 

The  creature  raised  a  shrill  cry  that  brought  all  its  fel- 
lows bounding  out  of  the  numerous  doors,  and  at  once  they 
started  in  chase.  Dorothy  and  Polly  had  reached  the  bridge 
and  crossed  it  when  the  Scoodlers  began  throwing  their  heads. 
One  of  the  queer  missiles  struck  the  shaggy  man  on  his  back 
and  nearly  knocked  him  over;  but  he  was  at  the  mouth  of  the 
cave  now,  so  he  set  down  Button-Bright  and  told  the  boy  to 
run  across  the  bridge  to  Dorothy. 

Then  the  shaggy  man  turned  around  and  faced  his  ene- 
mies, standing  just  outside  the  opening,  and  as  fast  as  thty 
threw  their  heads  at  him  he  caught  them  and  tossed  them  into 
the  black  gulf  below.  The  headless  bodies  of  the  foremost 
Scoodlers  kept  the  others  from  running  close  up,  but  they 
also  threw  their  heads  in  an  effort  to  stop  the  escaping  pris- 
oners. The  shaggy  man  caught  them  all  and  sent  them  whirl- 
ing down  into  the  black  gulf.    Among  them  he  noticed  the 

122 


Escaping   the    Soup-Kettle 

crimson  and  yellow  head  of  the  Queen,  and  this  he  tossed  after 
the  others  with  right  good  will. 

Presently  every  Scoodler  of  the  lot  had  thrown  its  head, 
and  every  head  was  down  in  the  deep  gulf,  and  now  the  help- 
less bodies  of  the  creatures  were  mixed  together  in  the  cave 
and  wriggling  around  in  a  vain  attempt  to  discover  what  had 
become  of  their  heads.  The  shaggy  man  laughed  and  walked 
across  the  bridge  to  rejoin  his  companions. 


*It  's  lucky  I  learned  to  play  base-ball  when  I  was  young," 
he  remarked,  "for  I  caught  all  those  heads  easily,  and  never 
missed  one.  But  come  along,  little  ones;  the  Scoodlers  will 
never  bother  us  or  anyone  else  any  more." 

Button-Bright  was  still  frightened  and  kept  insisting,  "I 


The     Road     to     Oz 

don't  want  to  be  soup  I"  for  the  victory  had  been  gained  so 
suddenly  that  the  boy  could  not  realize  they  were  free  and 
safe.  But  the  shaggy  man  assured  him  that  all  danger  of 
their  being  made  into  soup  was  now  past,  as  the  Scoodlers 
would  be  unable  to  eat  soup  for  some  time  to  come. 

So  now,  anxious  to  get  away  from  the  horrid  gloomy  cave 
as  soon  as  possible,  they  hastened  up  the  hillside  and  regained 
the  road  just  beyond  the  place  where  they  had  first  met  the 
Scoodlers;  and  you  may  be  sure  they  were  glad  to  find  their 
feet  on  the  old  familiar  path  again. 


124 


I 


"IT  'S  getting  awful  rough  walking,"  said  Dorothy,  as  they 
trudged  along.  Button-Bright  gave  a  deep  sigh  and  said 
he  was  hungry.  Indeed,  all  were  hungry,  and  thirsty,  too; 
for  they  had  eaten  nothing  but  the  apples  since  breakfast;  so 
their  steps  lagged  and  they  grew  silent  and  weary.  At  last 
they  slowly  passed  over  the  crest  of  a  barren  hill  and  saw  be- 
fore them  a  line  of  green  trees  with  a  strip  of  grass  at  theii 
feet.    An  agreeable  fragrance  was  wafted  toward  them. 

Our  travelers,  hot  and  tired,  ran  forward  on  beholding  this 
refreshing  sight  and  were  not  long  in  coming  to  the  trees. 
Here  they  found  a  spring  of  pure  bubbling  water,  around 

125 


The     Road     to     Oz 

which  the  grass  was  full  of  wild  strawberry  plants,  their 
pretty  red  berries  ripe  and  ready  to  eat.  Some  of  the  trees 
bore  yellow  oranges  and  some  russet  pears,  so  the  hungry  ad- 
venturers suddenly  found  themselves  provided  with  plenty  to 
eat  and  to  drink. 

They  lost  no  time  in  picking  the  biggest  strawberries  and 
ripest  oranges  and  soon  had  feasted  to  their  hearts'  content. 
Walking  beyond  the  line  of  trees  they  saw  before  them  a  fear- 
ful, dismal  desert,  everywhere  grey  sand.  At  the  edge  of  this 
awful  waste  was  a  large  white  sign  with  black  letters  neatly 
painted  upon  it ;  and  the  letters  made  these  words : 


ALL  PERSONS  ARE   WARNED   NOT   TO 
VENTURE  UPON  THIS  DESERT 

For  the  Deadly  Sands  will  Turn  Any  Living  Flesh  to  Dust  in  an  Instant.      Beyond 

This  Barrier  is  the 

LAND    OF    OZ 

But  no  one  can  Reach  that  Beautiful  Country  because  of  these  Destroying  Sands 


'*0h, '  said  Dorothy,  when  the  shaggy  man  had  read  this 
sign  aloud;  "I  've  seen  this  desert  before,  and  it  's  true  no 
one  can  live  who  tries  to  walk  upon  the  sands." 

"Then  we  must  n't  try  it,"  answered  the  shaggy  man, 
thoughtfully.  "But  as  we  can't  go  ahead  and  there  's  no  use 
going  back,  what  shall  we  do  next?" 

126 


Johnny    Dooit    Does    It 


"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"I  'm  sure  I  don't  know,  either,"  added  Dorothy,  despond- 
ently. 

*'I  wish  father  would  come  for  me,"  sighed  the  pretty 
Rainbow's  Daughter,  "I  would  take  you  all  to  live  upon  the 
rainbow,  where  you  could  dance  along  its  rays  from  morning 
till  night,  without  a  care  or  worry  of  any  sort.  But  I  suppose 
father  's  too  busy  just  now  to  search  the  world  for  me." 

"Don't  want  to  dance,"  said  Button-Bright,  sitting  down 
wearily  upon  the  soft  grass. 

"It 's  very  good  of  you,  Polly,"  said  Dorothy;  "but  there 
are  other  things  that  would  suit  me  better  than  dancing  on 

127 


The     Road     to     Oz 

rainbows.      I  'm  'fraid  they  'd  be  kind  of  soft  an'  squnshy 
under  foot,  anyhow,  although  they  're  so  pretty  to  look  at." 

This  did  n't  help  to  solve  the  problem,  and  they  all  fell  si- 
lent and  looked  at  one  another  questioningly. 

"Really,  I  don't  know  what  to  do,"  muttered  the  shaggy 
man,  gazing  hard  at  Toto ;  and  the  little  dog  wagged  his  tail 
and  said  "Bow-wow!''  just  as  if  he  could  not  tell,  either,  what 
to  do.  Button-Bright  got  a  stick  and  began  to  dig  in  the  earth, 
and  the  others  watched  him  for  a  while  in  deep  thought. 
Finally  the  shaggy  snan  said : 

*Tt  's  nearly  evening,  now;  so  we  may  well  sleep  in  this 
pretty  place  and  get  rested;  perhaps  by  morning  we  can  de- 
cide what  is  best  to  be  done." 

There  was  little  chance  to  make  beds  for  the  children,  but 
the  leaves  of  the  trees  grew  thickly  and  would  serve  to  keep 
off  the  night  dews,  so  the  shaggy  man  piled  soft  grasses  in 
the  thickest  shade  and  when  it  was  dark  they  lay  down  and 
slept  peacefully  until  morning. 

Long  after  the  others  were  asleep,  however,  the  shaggy 
man  sat  in  the  starlight  by  the  spring,  gazing  thoughtfully 
into  its  bubbling  waters.  Suddenly  he  smiled  and  nodded  to 
himself  as  if  he  had  found  a  good  thought,  after  which  he, 
too,  laid  himself  down  under  a  tree  and  was  soon  lost  in 
slumber. 

128 


The     Road     to     Oz 

In  the  bright  morning  sunshine,  as  they  ate  of  the  straw- 
berries and  sweet  juicy  pears,  Dorothy  said: 

"Polly,  can  you  do  any  magic?" 

"No,  dear,"  answered  Polychrome,  shaking  her  dainty 
head. 

"You  ought  to  know  some  magic,  being  the  Rainbow's 
Daughter,"  continued  Dorothy,  earnestly. 

"But  we  who  live  on  the  rainbow  among  the  fleecy  clouds 
have  no  use  for  magic,"  replied  Polychrome. 

"What  I  'd  like,"  said  Dorothy,  "is  to  find  some  way  to 
cross  the  desert  to  the  Land  of  Oz  and  its  Emerald  City.  Tve 
crossed  it  already,  you  know,  more  than  once.  First  a  cyclone 
carried  my  house  over,  and  some  Silver  Shoes  brought  me 
back  again  —  in  half  a  second.  Then  Ozma  took  me  over  on 
her  Magic  Carpet,  and  the  Nome  King's  Magic  Belt  took  me 
home  that  time.  You  see  it  was  magic  that  did  it  every  time 
'cept  the  first,  and  we  can't  'spect  a  cyclone  to  happen  along 
and  take  us  to  the  Emerald  City  now." 

"No,  indeed,"  returned  Polly,  with  a  shudder;  "I  hate 
cyclones,  anyway." 

That  's  why  I  wanted  to  find  out  if  you  could  do  any 
magic,"  said  the  little  Kansas  girl.  "I  'm  sure  I  can't;  and 
I  'm  sure  Button-Bright  can't;  and  the  only  magic  the  shaggy 
man  has  is  the  Love  Magnet,  which  won't  help  us  much." 

"Don't  be  too  sure  of  that,  my  dear,"  spoke  the  shaggy 

130 


Johnny    Dooit    Does    It 

man,  a  smile  on  his  donkey  face.  "I  may  not  be  able  to  do 
magic  myself,  but  I  can  call  to  us  a  powerful  friend  who  loves 
me  because  I  own  the  Love  Magnet,  and  this  friend  surely 
will  be  able  to  help  us." 

"Who  is  your  friend  T'  asked  Dorothy. 

"Johnny  Dooit." 

"What  can  Johnny  dor' 

"Anything,"  answered  the  shaggy  man,  with  confidence. 

"Ask  him  to  come,"  she  exclaimed,  eagerly. 

The  shaggy  man  took  the  Love  Magnet  from  his  pocket 
and  unwrapped  the  paper  that  surrounded  it.  Holding  the 
charm  in  the  palm  of  his  hand  he  looked  at  it  steadily  and 
said  these  words : 

''Dear  Johnny  Dooit,  come  to  me, 
I  need  you  bad  as  bad  can  beT 

"Well,  here  I  am,"  said  a  cheery  little  voice;  "but  you 
should  n't  say  you  need  me  bad,  'cause  I  'm  always,  always 
good." 

At  this  they  quickly  whirled  around  to  find  a  funny  little 
man  sitting  on  a  big  copper  chest,  puffing  smoke  from  a  long 
pipe.  His  hair  was  grey,  his  whiskers  were  grey;  and  these 
whiskers  were  so  long  that  he  had  wound  the  ends  of  them 
around  his  waist  and  tied  them  in  a  hard  knot  underneath  the 
leather  apron  that  reached  from  his  chin  nearly  to  his  feet, 

131 


The     Road     to     Oz 


and  which  was  soiled  and  scratched  as  if  it  had  been  used  a 
long  time.  His  nose  was  broad,  and  stuck  up  a  little;  but 
his  eyes  were  twinkling  and  merry.  The  little  man's  hands 
and  arms  were  as  hard  and  tough  as  the  leather  in  his  apron, 
and  Dorothy  thought  Johnny  Dooit  looked  as  if  he  had  done 
a  lot  of  hard  work  in  his  lifetime. 


*'Good  morning,  Johnny,"  said  the  shaggy  man.  "Thank 
you  for  coming  to  me  so  quickly." 

"I  never  waste  time,"  said  the  newcomer,  promptly.  "But 
what's  happened  to  you?  Where  did  you  get  that  donkey 
head?  Really,  I  would  n't  have  known  you  at  all,  Shaggy 
Man,  if  I  had  n't  looked  at  your  feet." 

132 


Johnny    Dooit    Does    It 

The  shaggy  man  introduced  Johnny  Dooit  to  Dorothy  and 
Toto  and  Button-Bright  and  the  Rainbow's  Daughter,  and 
told  him  the  story  of  their  adventures,  adding  that  they  were 
anxious  now  to  reach  the  Emerald  City  in  the  Land  of  Oz, 
where  Dorothy  had  friends  who  would  take  care  of  them  and 
send  them  safe  home  again. 

"But,"  said  he,  'Ve  find  that  we  can't  cross  this  desert, 
which  turns  all  living  flesh  that  touches  it  into  dust;  so  I  have 
asked  you  to  come  and  help  us." 

Johnny  Dooit  puffed  his  pipe  and  looked  carefully  at  the 
dreadful  desert  in  front  of  them  —  stretching  so  far  away 
they  could  not  see  its  end. 

"You  must  ride,"  he  said,  briskly. 

"What  in?"  asked  the  shaggy  man. 

"In  a  sand-boat,  which  has  runners  like  a  sled  and  sails 
like  a  ship.  The  wind  will  blow  you  swiftly  across  the  desert 
and  the  sand  cannot  touch  your  flesh  to  turn  it  into  dust." 

"Good !"'  cried  Dorothy,  clapping  her  hands  delightedly. 
"That  was  the  way  the  Magic  Carpet  took  us  across.  We 
did  n't  have  to  touch  the  horrid  sand  at  all." 

"But  where  is  the  sand-boat?"  asked  the  shaggy  man, 
looking  all  around  him. 

"I  '11  make  you  one,"  said  Johnny  Dooit. 

As  he  spoke  he  knocked  the  ashes  from  his  pipe  and  put  it 
in  his  pocket.    Then  he  unlocked  the  copper  chest  and  lifted 

133 


The     Road     to     Oz 

the  lid,  and  Dorothy  saw  it  was  full  of  shining  tools  of  all 
sorts  and  shapes. 

Johnny  Dooit  moved  quickly  now  —  so  quickly  that  they 
were  astonished  at  the  work  he  was  able  to  accomplish.  He 
had  in  his  chest  a  tool  for  everything  he  wanted  to  do,  and 
these  must  have  been  magic  tools  because  they  did  their  work 
so  fast  and  so  well. 

The  man  hummed  a  little  song  as  he  worked,  and  Dorothy 
tried  to  listen  to  it.  She  thought  the  words  were  something 
like  these: 

T!he  only  way  to  do  a  thing 
Is  do  it  when  you  can^ 
And  do  it  cheerfully^  and  sing 
And  work  and  think  and  plan, 

^he  only  real  unhappy  one 
Is  he  who  dares  to  shirk; 
'The  only  really  happy  one 

Is  he  who  cares  to  work. 

Whatever  Johnny  Dooit  was  singing  he  was  certainly  do- 
ing things,  and  they  all  stood  by  and  watched  him  in  amaze- 
ment. 

He  seized  an  axe  and  in  a  couple  of  chops  felled  a  tree. 
Next  he  took  a  saw  and  in  a  few  minutes  sawed  the  tree-trunk 
into  broad  long  boards.    He  then  nailed  the  boards  together 

134 


Johnny    Dooit    Does    It 

into  the  shape  of  a  boat,  about  twelve  feet  long  and  four 
feet  wide.  He  cut  from  another  tree  a  long,  slender  pole 
which,  when  trimmed  of  its  branches  and  fastened  upright 
in  the  center  of  the  boat,  served  as  a  mast.  From  the  chest 
he  drew  a  coil  of  rope  and  a  big  bundle  of  canvas,  and  with 
these  —  still  humming  his  song  —  he  rigged  up  a  sail,  arrang- 
ing it  so  it  could  be  raised  or  lowered  upon  the  mast. 

Dorothy  fairly  gasped  with  wonder  to  see  the  thing  grow 
so  speedily  before  her  eyes,  and  both  Button-Bright  and  Polly 
looked  on  with  the  same  absorbed  interest. 

"It  ought  to  be  painted,"  said  Johnny  Dooit,  tossing  his 
tools  back  into  the  chest,  "for  that  would  make  it  look  pret- 


i35 


The     Road     to     Oz 

tier.  But  'though  I  can  paint  it  for  you  in  three  seconds  it 
would  take  an  hour  to  dry,  and  that  's  a  waste  of  time." 

*'We  don't  care  how  it  looks,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  "if 
only  it  will  take  us  across  the  desert." 

"It  will  do  that,"  declared  Johnny  Dooit.  "All  you  need 
worry  about  is  tipping  over.    Did  you  ever  sail  a  ship?" 

"I  've  seen  one  sailed,"  said  the  shaggy  man. 

"Good.  Sail  this  boat  the  way  you  've  seen  a  ship  sailed, 
and  you  '11  be  across  the  sands  before  you  know  it." 

With  this  he  slammed  down  the  lid  of  the  chest,  and  the 
noise  made  them  all  wink.  While  they  were  winking  the 
workman  disappeared,  tools  and  all. 


136 


"OH,  that  's  too  bad!"  cried  Dorothy;  "I  wanted  to  thank 
Johnny  Dooit  for  all  his  kindness  to  us." 

"He  has  n't  time  to  listen  to  thanks,"  replied  the  shaggy 
man;  "but  I  'm  sure  he  knows  we  are  grateful.  I  suppose 
he  is  already  at  work  in  some  other  part  of  the  world." 

They  now  looked  more  carefully  at  the  sand-boat,  and 
saw  that  the  bottom  was  modelled  with  two  sharp  runners 
which  would  glide  through  the  sand.  The  front  of  the  sand- 
boat  was  pointed  like  the  bow  of  a  ship,  and  there  was  a  rud- 
der at  the  stern  to  steer  by. 

It  had  been  built  just  at  the  edge  of  the  desert,  so  that  all 

137 


The     Road     to     Oz 


its  length  lay  upon  the  grey  sand  except  the  after  part,  which 
still  rested  on  the  strip  of  grass. 

*'Get  in,  my  dears,"  said  the  shaggy  man;  "I  'm  sure  I  can 
manage  this  boat  as  well  as  any  sailor.  All  you  need  do  is 
sit  still  in  your  places." 


Dorothy  got  in,  Toto  in  her  arms,  and  sat  on  the  bottom  of 
the  boat  just  in  front  of  the  mast.  Button-Bright  sat  in  front 
of  Dorothy,  while  Polly  leaned  over  the  bow.  The  shaggy 
man  knelt  behind  the  mact*  When  all  were  ready  he  raised 
the  sail  half  way.  The  wind  caught  it.  At  once  the  sand- 
boat  started  forward  —  slowly  at  first,  then  with  added  speed. 
The  shaggy  man  pulled  the  sail  way  up,  and  they  flew  so 

138 


The  Deadly  Desert  Crossed 

fast  over  the  Deadly  Desert  that  every  one  held  fast  to  the 
sides  of  the  boat  and  scarcely  dared  to  breathe. 

The  sand  lay  in  billows,  and  was  in  places  very  uneven, 
so  that  the  boat  rocked  dangerously  from  side  to  side ;  but  it 
never  quite  tipped  over,  and  the  speed  was  so  great  that  the 
shaggy  man  himself  became  frightened  and  began  to  wonder 
how  he  could  make  the  ship  go  slower. 

"If  we  're  spilled  in  this  sand,  in  the  middle  of  the  desert," 
Dorothy  thought  to  herself,  "we  '11  be  nothing  but  dust  in  a 
few  minutes,  and  that  will  be  the  end  of  us." 

But  they  were  not  spilled,  and  by-and-bye  Polychrome, 
who  was  clinging  to  the  bow  and  looking  straight  ahead,  saw 
a  dark  line  before  them  and  wondered  what  it  was.  It  grew 
plainer  every  second,  until  she  discovered  it  to  be  a  row  of 
jagged  rocks  at  the  end  of  the  desert,  while  high  above  these 
rocks  she  could  see  a  tableland  of  green  grass  and  beautiful 
trees. 

"Look  out!"  she  screamed  to  the  shaggy  man.  "Go  slow- 
ly, or  we  shall  smash  into  the  rocks." 

He  heard  her,  and  tried  to  pull  down  the  sail;  but  the 
wind  would  not  let  go  of  the  broad  canvas  and  the  ropes  had 
become  tangled. 

Nearer  and  nearer  they  drew  to  the  great  rocks,  and  the 
shaggy  man  was  in  despair  because  he  could  do  nothing  to 
stop  the  wild  rush  of  the  sand-boat. 

139 


•LOOKOUTI"  SCREAMED  POLYCHROME 


140 


The  Deadly  Desert  Crossed 

They  reached  the  edge  of  the  desert  and  bumped  squarely 
into  the  rocks.  There  was  a  crash  as  Dorothy,  Button-Bright, 
Toto  and  Polly  flew  up  in  the  air  in  a  curve  like  a  skyrocket's, 
one  after  another  landing  high  upon  the  grass,  where  they 
rolled  and  tumbled  for  a  time  before  they  could  stop  them- 
selves. 

The  shaggy  man  flew  after  them,  head  first,  and  lighted  in 
a  heap  beside  Toto,  who,  being  much  excited  at  the  time, 
seized  one  of  the  donkey  ears  between  his  teeth  and  shook  and 
worried  it  as  hard  as  he  could,  growling  angrily.  The  shaggy 
man  made  the  little  dog  let  go,  and  sat  up  to  look  around 
him. 

Dorothy  was  feeling  one  of  her  front  teeth,  which  was 
loosened  by  knocking  against  her  knee  as  she  fell.  Polly  was 
looking  sorrowfully  at  a  rent  in  her  pretty  gauze  gown,  and 
Button-Bright' s  fox  head  had  stuck  fast  in  a  gopher  hole  and 
he  was  wiggling  his  little  fat  legs  frantically  in  an  effort  to 
get  free. 

Otherwise  they  were  unhurt  by  the  adventure;  so  the 
shaggy  man  stood  up  and  pulled  Button-Bright  out  of  the 
hole  and  went  to  the  edge  of  the  desert  to  look  at  the  sand- 
boat.  It  was  a  mere  mass  of  splinters  now,  crushed  out  of 
shape  against  the  rocks.  The  wind  had  torn  away  the  sail 
and  carried  it  to  the  top  of  a  tall  tree,  where  the  fragments  of 
it  fluttered  like  a  white  flag. 

141 


The     Road     to     Oz 


"Well,"  he  said,  cheerfully,  "we  're  here;  but  where  the 
here  is  I  don't  know." 

"It  must  be  some  part  of  the  Land  of  Oz,"  observed  Doro- 
thy, coming  to  his  side. 

"Must  itr 

"  'Course  it  must.  We  're  across  the  desert,  are  n't  we? 
And  somewhere  in  the  middle  of  Oz  is  the  Emerald  City." 

"To  be  sure,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  nodding.  "Let  's  go 
there." 

"But  I  don't  see  any  people  about,  to  show  us  the  way," 
she  continued. 

"Let  's  hunt  for  them,"  he  suggested.  "There  must  be 
people  somewhere;  but  perhaps  they  did  not  expect  us,  and 
so  are  not  at  hand  to  give  us  a  welcome." 


^^     ^rif.u 


\x% 


THEY  now  made  a  more  careful  examination  of  the  coun- 
try around  them.  All  was  fresh  and  beautiful  after  the  sultri- 
ness of  the  desert,  and  the  sunshine  and  sweet,  crisp  air  were 
delightful  to  the  wanderers.  Little  mounds  of  yellowish 
green  were  away  at  the  right,  while  on  the  left  waved  a  group 
of  tall  leafy  trees  bearing  yellow  blossoms  that  looked  like 
tassels  and  pompoms.  Among  the  grasses  carpeting  the 
ground  were  pretty  buttercups  and  cowslips  and  marigolds. 
After  looking  at  these  a  moment  Dorothy  said  reflectively : 

"We  must  be  in  the  Country  of  the  Winkles,  for  the  color 
of  that  country  is  yellow,  and  you  will  notice  that  'most  every- 
thing here  is  yellow  that  has  any  color  at  all." 

H3 


The     Road     to     Oz 

*'But  I  thought  this  was  the  Land  of  Oz,"  replied  the 
thaggy  man,  as  if  greatly  disappointed. 

"So  it  is,"  she  declared;  "but  there  are  four  parts  to  the 
Land  of  Oz.  The  North  Country  is  purple,  and  it  's  the 
Country  of  the  Gillikins.  The  East  country  is  blue,  and 
that 's  the  Country  of  the  Munchkins.  Down  at  the  South  is 
the  red  Country  of  the  Quadlings,  and  here,  in  the  West,  the 
yellow  Country  of  the  Winkies.  This  is  the  part  that  is  ruled 
by  the  Tin  Woodman,  you  know." 

"Who 's  he?"  asked  Button-Bright. 

"Why,  he  's  the  tin  man  I  told  you  about.  His  name  is 
Nick  Chopper,  and  he  has  a  lovely  heart  given  him  by  the 
wonderful  Wizard." 

"Where  does  he  live?"  asked  the  boy. 

"The  Wizard?  Oh,  he  lives  in  the  Emerald  City,  which 
is  just  in  the  middle  of  Oz,  where  the  corners  of  the  four 
countries  meet." 

"Oh,"  said  Button-Bright,  puzzled  by  this  explanation. 

"We  must  be  some  distance  from  the  Emerald  City,"  re- 
marked the  shaggy  man. 

"That 's  true,"  she  replied:  "so  we  'd  better  start  on  ?nd 
see  if  we  can  find  any  of  the  Winkies.  They  're  nice  people," 
she  continued,  as  the  little  party  began  walking  toward  the 
group  of  trees,  "and  I  came  here  once  with  my  friends  the 
Scarecrow,  and  the  Tin  Woodman,  and  the  Cowardly  Lion, 

144 


The     Truth     Pond 


to  fight  a  wicked  witch  who  had  made  all  the  Winkies  her 
slaves." 

"Did  you  conquer  her?"  asked  Polly. 

"Why,  I  melted  her  with  a  bucket  of  water,  and  that  was 
the  end  of  her,"  replied  Dorothy.  "After  that  the  people 
were  free,  you  know,  and  they  made  Nick  Chopper  —  that 's 
the  Tin  Woodman  —  their  Emp'ror." 

"What 's  that?"  asked  Button-Bright. 

"Emp'ror?  Oh,  it  's  something  like  an  alderman,  I 
guess." 

"Oh,"  said  the  boy. 

"But  I  thought  Princess  Ozma  ruled  Oz,"  said  the  shaggy 
man. 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"So  she  does ;  she  rules  the  Emerald  City  and  all  the  four 
countries  of  Oz;  but  each  country  has  another  little  ruler,  not 
so  big  as  Ozma.  It 's  like  the  officers  of  an  army,  you  see ;  the 
little  rulers  are  all  captains,  and  Ozma's  the  general.'' 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  trees,  which  stood  in  a 
perfect  circle  and  just  far  enough  apart  so  that  their  thick 
branches  touched  —  or  "shook  hands,"  as  Button-Bright  re- 
marked. Under  the  shade  of  the  trees  they  found,  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  circle,  a  crystal  pool,  its  water  as  still  as  glass.  It 
must  have  been  deep,  too,  for  when  Polychrome  bent  over  it 
she  gave  a  little  sigh  of  pleasure. 

"Why,  it 's  a  mirror  I"  she  cried;  for  she  could  see  all  her 
pretty  face  and  fluffy,  rainbow-tinted  gown  reflected  in  the 
pool,  as  natural  as  life. 

Dorothy  bent  over,  too,  and  began  to  arrange  her  hair, 
blown  by  the  desert  wind  into  straggling  tangles.  Button- 
Bright  leaned  over  the  edge  next,  and  then  began  to  cry,  for 
the  sight  of  his  fox  head  frightened  the  poor  little  fellow. 

"I  guess  I  won't  look,"  remarked  the  shaggy  man,  sadly, 
for  he  did  n't  like  his  donkey  head,  either.  While  Polly  and 
Dorothy  tried  to  comfort  Button-Bright,  the  shaggy  man  sat 
down  near  the  edge  of  the  pool,  where  his  image  could  not  be 
reflected,  and  stared  at  the  water  thoughtfully.  As  he  did  this 
he  noticed  a  silver  plate  fastened  to  a  rock  just  under  the  sur- 

146 


The     Truth     Pond 


face  of  the  water,  and  on  the  silver  plate  was  engraved  these 
words : 


"Ah!"  cried  tne  shaggy  man,  springing  to  his  feet  with  eager 
joy;  "we  've  found  it  at  last." 

"Found  what?"  asked  Dorothy,  running  to  him. 

"The  Truth  Pond.  Now,  at  last,  I  may  get  rid  of  this 
frightful  head;  for  we  were  told,  you  remember,  that  only 
the  Truth  Pond  could  restore  to  me  my  proper  face." 

"Me,  too!"  shouted  Button-Bright,  trotting  up  to  them. 

"Of  course,"  said  Dorothy.  "It  will  cure  you  both  of 
your  bad  heads,  I  guess.    Is  n't  it  lucky  we  found  it*?" 


The    Road     to    Oz 

"It  is,  indeed,"  replied  the  shaggy  man.  "I  hated  dread- 
fully to  go  to  Princess  Ozma  looking  like  this;  and  she  *s  to 
have  a  birthday  celebration,  too." 

Just  then  a  splash  startled  them,  for  Button-Bright,  in 
his  anxiety  to  see  the  pool  that  would  "cure"  him,  had  stepped 
too  near  the  edge  and  tumbled  heels  over  head  into  the  water. 
Down  he  went,  out  of  sight  entirely,  so  that  only  his  sailor  hat 
floated  on  the  top  of  the  Truth  Pond. 

He  soon  bobbed  up,  and  the  shaggy  man  seized  him  by 
his  sailor  collar  and  dragged  him  to  the  shore,  dripping  and 
gasping  for  breath.  They  all  looked  upon  the  boy  wonder- 
ingly,  for  the  fox  head  with  its  sharp  nose  and  pointed  ears 
was  gone,  and  in  its  place  appeared  the  chubby  round  face 
and  blue  eyes  and  pretty  curls  that  had  belonged  to  Button- 
Bright  before  King  Dox  of  Foxville  transformed  him. 

"Oh,  what  a  darling!"  cried  Polly,  and  would  have  hug- 
ged the  little  one  had  he  not  been  so  wet. 

Their  joyful  exclamations  made  the  child  rub  the  water 
out  of  his  eyes  and  look  at  his  friends  questioningly. 

"You  're  all  right  now,  dear,"  said  Dorothy.  "Come  and 
look  at  yourself."  She  led  him  to  the  pool,  and  although 
there  were  still  a  few  ripples  on  the  surface  of  the  water  he 
could  see  his  reflection  plainly. 

"It 's  me !"  he  said,  in  a  pleased  yet  awed  whisper. 

148 


THE  SHAGGY  MAN'S  OWN  HEAD  RESTORED 


•49 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"  'Course  it  is,"  replied  the  girl;  "and  we  're  all  as  glad  as 
you  are,  Button-Bright." 

"Well,"  announced  the  shaggy  man,  "it 's  my  turn  next." 
He  took  off  his  shaggy  coat  and  laid  it  on  the  grass  and  dived 
head  first  into  the  Truth  Pond. 


When  he  came  up  the  donkey  head  had  disappeared,  and 
the  shaggy  man's  own  shaggy  head  was  in  its  place,  with  the 
water  dripping  in  little  streams  from  his  shaggy  whiskers.  He 
scrambled  ashore  and  shook  himself  to  get  off  some  of  the  wet, 
and  then  leaned  over  the  pool  to  look  admiringly  at  his  re- 
flected face. 


The     Truth     Pond 

"I  may  not  be  strictly  beautiful,  even  now,"  he  said  to  his 
companions,  who  watched  him  with  smiling  faces;  "but  I  *m 
so  much  handsomer  than  any  donkey  that  I  feel  as  proud  as  I 
can  be." 

"You  're  all  right,  Shaggy  Man,"  declared  Dorothy 
"And  Button-Bright  is  all  right,  too.  So  let  's  thank  the 
Truth  Pond  for  being  so  nice,  and  start  on  our  journey  to  the 
Emerald  City." 

"I  hate  to  leave  it,"  murmured  the  shaggy  man,  with  a 
sigh.  "A  truth  pond  would  n't  be  a  bad  thing  to  carry  around 
with  us."  But  he  put  on  his  coat  and  started  with  the  others 
in  search  of  some  one  to  direct  them  on  their  way. 


Ki 


THEY  had  not  walked  far  across  the  flower-strewn  mead- 
ows when  they  came  upon  a  fine  road  leading  toward  the 
northwest  and  winding  gracefully  among  the  pretty  yellow 
hills. 

"That  way,"  said  Dorothy,  "must  be  the  direction  of  the 
Emerald  City.  We  'd  better  follow  the  road  until  we  meet 
some  one  or  come  to  a  house." 

The  sun  soon  dried  Button-Bright's  sailor  suit  and  the 
shaggy  man's  shaggy  clothes,  and  so  pleased  were  they  at  re- 
gaining their  own  heads  that  they  did  not  mind  at  M.  the 
brief  discomfort  of  getting  wet. 

152 


Tik-Tok     and     Billina 

"It  's  good  to  be  able  to  whistle  again,"  remarked  the 
shaggy  man,  "for  those  donkey  lips  were  so  thick  I  could  not 
whistle  a  note  with  them."  He  warbled  a  tune  as  merrily 
as  any  bird. 

"You  '11  look  more  natural  at  the  birthday  celebration, 
too,"  said  Dorothy,  happy  in  seeing  her  friends  so  happy. 

Polychrome  was  dancing  ahead  in  her  usual  sprightly 
manner,  whirling  gaily  along  the  smooth,  level  road,  until 
she  passed  from  sight  around  the  curve  of  one  of  the  mounds. 
Suddenly  they  heard  her  exclaim  "Oh!"  and  she  appeared 
again,  running  toward  them  at  full  speed. 

"What 's  the  matter,  Polly?"  asked  Dorothy,  perplexed. 

There  was  no  need  for  the  Rainbow's  Daughter  to  an- 
swer, for  turning  the  bend  in  the  road  there  came  advancing 
slowly  toward  them  a  funny  round  man  made  of  burnished 
copper,  gleaming  brightly  in  the  sun.  Perched  on  the  copper 
man's  shoulder  sat  a  yellow  hen,  with  fluffy  feathers  and  a 
pearl  necklace  around  her  throat. 

"Oh,  Tik-tokl"  cried  Dorothy,  running  forward.  When 
she  came  to  him  the  copper  man  lifted  the  little  girl  in  his 
copper  arms  and  kissed  her  cheek  with  his  copper  lips. 

"Oh,  Billina !"  cried  Dorothy,  in  a  glad  voice,  and  the  yel- 
low hen  flew  to  her  arms,  to  be  hugged  and  petted  by  turns. 

The  others  were  curiously  crowding  around  the  group, 
and  the  girl  said  to  them : 

153 


The     Road     to     Oz 


"It 's  Tik-tok  and  Billina;  and  oh  1 1  'm  so  glad  to  see  them 
again." 

"Wel-come  to  Oz,"  said  the  copper  man,  in  a  monotonous 
voice. 


Dorothy  sat  right  down  in  the  road,  the  yellow  hen  in  her 
arms,  and  began  to  stroke  Billina's  back.  Said  the  hen : 

"Dorothy,  dear,  I  've  some  wonderful  news  to  tell  you." 

"Tell  it  quick,  Billina  I"  said  the  girl. 
Just  then  Toto,  who  had  been  growling  to  himself  in  a 
cross  way  gave  a  sharp  bark  and  flew  at  the  yellow  hen,  who 
ruffled  her  feathers  and  let  out  such  an  angry  screech  that 
Dorothy  was  startled. 

"Stop,  Toto!    Stop  that  this  minute!"  she  commanded. 
"Can't  you  see  that  Billina  is  my  friend^"    In  spite  of  this 

154 


Tik-Tok     and     Billina 


warning  had  she  not  grabbed  Toto  quickly  by  the  neck  the  lit- 
tle dog  would  have  done  the  yellow  hen  a  mischief,  and  even 
now  he  struggled  madly  to  escape  Dorothy's  grasp.  She 
slapped  his  ears  once  or  twice  and  told  him  to  behave,  and  the 
yellow  hen  flew  to  Tik-tok's  shoulder  again,  where  she  was 
safe. 

"What  a  brute  I"  croaked  Billina,  glaring  down  at  the  lit- 
tle dog. 

"Toto  is  n't  a  brute,"  replied  Dorothy:  "but  at  home 
Uncle  Henry  has  to  whip  him  sometimes  for  chasing  the 
chickens.  Now,  look  here,  Toto,"  she  added,  holding  up  her 
finger  and  speaking  sternly  to  him,  "you  've  got  to  understand 
that  Billina  is  one  of  my  dearest  friends,  and  must  n't  be 
hurt  —  now  or  ever." 

Toto  wagged  his  tail  as  if  he  understood. 

"The  miserable  thing  can't  talk,"  said  Billina,  with  a 
sneer. 

"Yes,  he  can,"  replied  Dorothy;  "he  talks  with  his  tail, 
and  I  know  everything  he  says.  If  you  could  wag  your  tail, 
Billina,  you  would  n't  need  words  to  talk  with." 

"Nonsense  I"  said  Billina. 

"It  is  n*t  nonsense  at  all.  Just  now  Toto  says  he  's  sorry, 
and  that  he  '11  try  to  love  you  for  my  sake.  Don't  you,  Toto?'* 

"Bow-wow!"  said  Toto,  wagging  his  tail  again. 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"But  I  've  such  wonderful  news  for  you,  Dorothy,"  cried 

the  yellow  hen;  "I  've " 

^  'Wait  a  minute,  dear,"  interrupted  the  little  girl;  "I  've 
got  to  introduce  you  all,  first.  That  's  manners,  Billina. 
This,"  turning  to  her  traveling  companions,  **is  Mr.  Tik-tok, 
who  works  by  machinery,  'cause  his  thoughts  wind  up,  and  his 
talk  winds  up,  and  his  action  winds  up  —  like  a  clock." 

"Do  they  all  wind  up  together?"  asked  the  shaggy  man. 

"No;  each  one  separate.  But  he  works  just  lovely,  and 
Tik-tok  was  a  good  friend  to  me  once,  and  saved  my  life  — 
and  Billina's  life,  too." 

"Is  he  alive?"  asked  Button-Bright,  looking  hard  at  the 
copper  man. 

"Oh,  no,  but  his  machinery  makes  him  just  as  good  as 
alive."  She  turned  to  the  copper  man  and  said  politely :  "Mr. 
Tik-tok,  these  are  my  new  friends:  the  shaggy  man,  and 
Polly  the  Rainbow's  Daughter,  and  Button-Bright,  and  Toto. 
Only  Toto  is  n't  a  new  friend,  'cause  he  's  been  to  Oz  be- 
fore." 

The  copper  man  bowed  low,  removing  his  copper  hat  as  he 
did  so. 

"I  'm  ve-ry  pleased  to  meet  Dor-o-thy's  f r-r-r-r-r " 

Here  he  stopped  short. 

"Oh,  I  guess  his  speech  needs  winding!"  said  the  little 
girl,  running  behind  the  copper  man  to  get  the  key  off  a  hook 

LC6 


p 

Tik-Tok     and     Billina 

at  his  back.  She  wound  him  up  at  a  place  under  his  right  arm 
and  he  went  on  to  say : 

"Par-don  me  for  run-ning  down.  I  was  a-bout  to  say  I  am 
pleased  to  meet  Dor-o-thy's  friends,  who  must  be  my  friends.'* 
The  words  were  somewhat  jerky,  but  plain  to  understand. 

"And  this  is  Billina,"  continued  Dorothy,  introducing  the 
yellow  hen,  and  they  all  bowed  to  her  in  turn. 

"I  've  such  wonderful  news,"  said  the  hen,  turning  her 
head  so  that  one  bright  eye  looked  full  at  Dorothy. 

"What  is  it,  dear?"  asked  the  girl. 

"I  've  hatched  out  ten  of  the  loveliest  chicks  you  ever 
saw." 

"Oh,  how  nice  I    And  where  are  they,  Billina?" 

"I  left  them  at  home.  But  they  're  beauties,  I  assure  you, 
and  all  wonderfully  clever.    I  've  named  them  Dorothy." 

"Which  one?"  asked  the  girl. 

"All  of  them,"  replied  Billina. 

"That  's  funny.  Why  did  you  name  them  all  with  the 
same  name?" 

"It  was  so  hard  to  tell  them  apart,"  explained  the  hen. 
"Now,  when  I  call  'Dorothy,'  they  all  come  running  to  me  in 
a  bunch;  it 's  much  easier,  after  all,  than  having  a  separate 
name  for  each." 

"I  'm  just  dying  to  see  'em,  Billina,"  said  Dorothy,  eag- 
erly.   "But  tell  me,  my  friends,  how  did  you  happen  to  be 

157 


The     Road     to     Oz 


here,  in  the  Country  of  the  Winkles,  the  first  of  all  to  meet 
usT 

"I'll  tell  you,"  answered  Tik-tok,  in  his  monotonous  voice, 
all  the  sounds  of  his  words  being  on  one  level  —  "Prin-cess 
Oz-ma  saw  you  in  her  mag-ic  pic-ture,  and  knew  you  were 
com-ing  here;  so  she  sent  Bil-lin-a  and  me  to  wel-come  you, 
as  she  could  not  come  her-self ;  so  that  —  fiz-i-dig-le  cum-so- 
lut-ing  hy-ber-gob-ble  in-tu-zib-ick " 

"Good  gracious!  Whatever  's  the  matter  now^"  cried 
Dorothy,  as  the  copper  man  continued  to  babble  these  un- 
meaning words,  which  no  one  could  understand  at  all  because 
they  had  no  sense. 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright,  who  was  half  scared. 
Polly  whirled  away  to  a  distance  and  turned  to  look  at  the 
copper  man  in  a  fright. 


Tik-Tok     and     Billina 

''His  thoughts  have  run  down,  this  time,"  remarked  Bil- 
lina composedly,  as  she  sat  on  Tik-tok's  shoulder  and  pruned 
her  sleek  feathers.  "When  he  can't  think  he  can't  talk  prop- 
erly, any  more  than  you  can.  You  '11  have  to  wind  up  his 
thoughts,  Dorothy,  or  else  I'll  have  to  finish  his  story  myself." 

Dorothy  ran  around  and  got  the  key  again  and  wound  up 
Tik-tok  under  his  left  arm,  after  which  he  could  speak  plainly 
again. 

'Tar-don  me,"  he  said,  "but  when  my  thoughts  run  down 
my  speech  has  no  mean-ing,  for  words  are  formed  on-ly  by 
thought.  I  was  a-bout  to  say  that  Oz-ma  sent  us  to  wel-come 
you  and  in-vite  you  to  come  straight  to  the  Em-er-ald  Ci-ty. 
She  was  too  bus-y  to  come  her-self,  for  she  is  pre-par-ing  for 
her  birth-day  cel-e-bra-tion,  which  is  to  be  a  grand  af-fair." 

"I  've  heard  of  it,"  said  Dorothy,  "and  I  'm  glad  we  've 
come  in  time  to  attend.  Is  it  far  from  here  to  the  Emerald 
City?' 

"Not  ve-ry  far,"  answered  Tik-tok,  "and  we  have  plen-ty 
of  time.  To-night  we  will  stop  at  the  pal-ace  of  the  Tin 
Wood-man,  and  to-mor-row  night  we  will  ar-rive  at  the  Em- 
er-ald  Ci-ty." 

"Goody!"  cried  Dorothy.  "I  'd  like  to  see  dear  Nick 
Chopper  again.    How  's  his  hearth" 

"It 's  fine,"  said  Billina;  "the  Tin  Woodman  says  it  gets 
softer  and  kindlier  every  day.    He  's  waiting  at  his  castle  to 

159 


The     Road     to     Oz 

welcome  you,  Dorothy;  but  he  could  n't  come  with  us  be- 
cause he  'is  getting  polished  as  bright  as  possible  for  Ozma's 
party." 

''Well,  then,"  said  Dorothy,  "let 's  start  on,  and  we  can 
talk  more  as  we  go." 

They  proceeded  on  their  journey  in  a  friendly  group,  for 
Polychrome  had  discovered  that  the  copper  man  was  harmless 
and  was  no  longer  afraid  of  him.  Button-Bright  was  also 
reassured,  and  took  quite  a  fancy  to  Tik-tok.  He  wanted  the 
clockwork  man  to  open  himself,  so  the  he  might  see  the  wheels 
go  round;  but  that  was  a  thing  Tik-tok  could  not  do.  But- 
ton-Bright then  wanted  to  wind  up  the  copper  man,  and 
Dorothy  promised  he  should  do  so  as  soon  as  any  part  of  the 
machinery  ran  down.  This  pleased  Button-Bright,  who  held 
fast  to  one  of  Tik-tok' s  copper  hands  as  he  trudged  along  the 
road,  while  Dorothy  walked  on  the  other  side  of  her  old  friend 
and  Billina  perched  by  turns  upon  his  shoulder  or  his  copper 
hat.  Polly  once  more  joyously  danced  ahead  and  Toto  ran 
after  her,  barking  with  glee.  The  shaggy  man  was  left  to 
walk  behind;  but  he  did  n't  seem  to  mind  that  a  bit,  and 
whistled  merrily  or  looked  curiously  upon  the  pretty  scenes 
they  passed. 

At  last  they  came  to  a  hilltop  from  which  the  tin  castle 
of  Nick  Chopper  could  plainly  be  seen,  its  towers  glistening 
magnificently  under  the  rays  of  the  declining  sun. 

160 


Tik-Tok     and     Billina 

"How  pretty  I"  exclaimed  Dorothy.  "I  've  never  seen 
the  Emp'ror's  new  house  before." 

"He  built  it  because  the  old  castle  was  damp,  and  likely 
to  rust  his  tin  body,"  said  Billina.  "All  those  towers  and 
steeples  and  domes  and  gables  took  a  lot  of  tin,  as  you  can 
see." 

"Is  it  a  toy*?"  asked  Button-Bright,  softly. 

"No,  dear,"  answered  Dorothy;  "it  's  better  than  that. 
It 's  the  fairy  dwelling  of  a  fairy  prince." 


j6i 


THE  grounds  around  Nick  Chopper's  new  house  were  laid 
out  in  pretty  flower-beds,  with  fountains  of  crystal  water  and 
statues  of  tin  representing  the  Emperor's  personal  friends. 
Dorothy  was  astonished  and  delighted  to  find  a  tin  statue 
of  herself  standing  on  a  tin  pedestal  at  a  bend  in  the  avenue 
leading  up  to  the  entrance.  It  was  life-size  and  showed 
her  in  her  sunbonnet  with  her  basket  on  her  arm,  just  as  she 
had  first  appeared  in  the  Land  of  Oz. 

"Oh,  Toto  —  you  're  there  too!"  she  exclaimed;  and  sure 
enough  there  was  the  tin  figure  of  Toto  lying  at  the  tin  Dor- 
othy's feet. 

162 


The    Emperor's   Tin   Castle 


Also  Dorothy  saw  figures  of  the  Scarecrow,  and  the  Wiz- 
ard, and  Ozma,  and  of  many  others,  including  Tik-tok.  They 
reached  the  grand  tin  entrance  to  the  tin  castle,  and  the  Tin 
Woodman  himself  came  running  out  of  the  door  to  embrace 


r 


little  Dorothy  and  give  her  a  glad  welcome.    He  welcomed 

her  friends  as  well,  and  the  Rainbow's  Daughter  he  declared 

to  be  the  loveliest  vision  his  tin  eyes  had  ever  beheld.    He 

patted  Button-Bright' s  curly  head  tenderly,  for  he  was  fond 

of  children,  and  turned  to  the  shaggy  man  and  shook  both  his 
hands  at  the  same  time. 

Nick  Chopper,  the  Emperor  of  the  Winkies,  who  was 
also  known  throughout  the  Land  of  Oz  as  the  Tin  Wood- 
man, was  certainly  a  remarkable  person.     He  was  neatly 

163 


The     Road     to     Oz 

made,  all  of  tin,  nicely  soldered  at  the  joints,  and  his  various 
limbs  were  cleverly  hinged  to  his  body  so  that  he  could  use 
them  nearly  as  well  as  if  they  had  been  common  flesh.  Once, 
he  told  the  shaggy  man,  he  had  been  made  all  of  flesh  and 
bones,  as  others  people  are,  and  then  he  chopped  wood  in  the 
forests  to  earn  his  living.  But  the  axe  slipped  so  often  and 
cut  off  parts  of  him  —  which  he  had  replaced  with  tin  — 
that  finally  there  was  no  flesh  left,  nothing  but  tin ;  so  he  be- 
came a  real  tin  woodman.  The  wonderful  Wizard  of  Oz  had 
given  him  an  excellent  heart  to  replace  his  old  one,  and  he 
did  n't  at  all  mind  being  tin.  Every  one  loved  him,  he  loved 
every  one ;  and  he  was  therefore  as  happy  as  the  day  was  long. 

The  Emperor  was  proud  of  his  new  tin  castle,  and  showed 
his  visitors  through  all  the  rooms.  Every  bit  of  the  furniture 
was  made  of  brightly  polished  tin  —  the  tables,  chairs,  beds, 
and  all  —  even  the  floors  and  walls  were  of  tin. 

"I  suppose,"  said  he,  "that  there  are  no  cleverer  tinsmiths 
in  all  the  world  than  the  Winkles.  It  would  be  hard  to  match 
this  castle  in  Kansas;  would  n't  it,  little  Dorothy'?" 

"Very  hard,"  replied  the  child,  gravely. 

"It  must  have  cost  a  lot  of  money,"  remarked  the  shaggy 
man. 

"Money I  Money  in  Oz!"  cried  the  Tin  Woodman. 
"What  a  queer  idea !  Did  you  suppose  we  are  so  vulgar  as 
to  use  money  here*?" 

164 


The    Emperor's   Tin   Castle 

"Why  not^"  asked  the  shaggy  man. 

"If  we  used  money  to  buy  things  with,  instead  of  love 
and  kindness  and  the  desire  to  please  one  another,  then  we 
should  be  no  better  than  the  rest  of  the  world,"  declared  the 
Tin  Woodman.  "Fortunately  money  is  not  known  in  the 
Land  of  Oz  at  all.  We  have  no  rich,  and  no  poor;  for  what 
one  wishes  the  others  all  try  to  give  him,  in  order  to  make 
him  happy,  and  no  one  in  all  Oz  cares  to  have  more  than  he 
can  use." 

"Good!"  cried  the  shaggy  man,  greatly  pleased  to  hear 
this.  "I  also  despise  money  —  a  man  in  Butterfield  owes  me 
fifteen  cents,  and  I  will  not  take  it  from  him.  The  Land 
of  Oz  is  surely  the  most  favored  land  in  all  the  world,  and 
its  people  the  happiest.    I  should  like  to  live  here  always." 

The  Tin  Woodman  listened  with  respectful  attention. 
Already  he  loved  the  shaggy  man,  although  he  did  not  yet 
know  of  the  Love  Magnet.    So  he  said : 

"If  you  can  prove  to  the  Princess  Ozma  that  you  are  hon- 
est and  true  and  worthy  of  our  friendship,  you  may  indeed 
live  here  all  your  days,  and  be  as  happy  as  we  are." 

"I  '11  try  to  prove  that,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  earnestly. 

"And  now,"  continued  the  Emperor,  "you  must  all  go  to 
your  rooms  and  prepare  for  dinner,  which  will  presently  be 
served  in  the  grand  tin  dining-hall.    I  am  sorry.  Shaggy  Man, 

165 


The     Road     to     Oz 

that  I  can  not  offer  you  a  change  of  clothing ;  but  I  dress  only 
in  tin,  myself,  and  I  suppose  that  would  not  suit  you." 

*'I  care  little  about  dress,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  indiffer- 
ently. 

"So  I  should  imagine,"  replied  the  Emperor,  with  true 
politeness. 

They  were  shown  to  their  rooms  and  permitted  to  make 
such  toilets  as  they  could,  and  soon  they  assembled  again  in 
the  grand  tin  dining-hall,  even  Toto  being  present.  For  the 
Emperor  was  fond  of  Dorothy's  little  dog,  and  the  girl  ex- 
plained to  her  friends  that  in  Oz  all  animals  were  treated 
with  as  much  consideration  as  the  people  —  "if  they  behave 
themselves,"  she  added. 

Toto  behaved  himself,  and  sat  in  a  tin  high-chair  beside 
Dorothy  and  ate  his  dinner  from  a  tin  platter. 

Indeed,  they  all  ate  from  tin  dishes,  but  these  were  of 
pretty  shapes  and  brightly  polished;  Dorothy  thought  they 
were  just  as  good  as  silver. 

Button-Bright  looked  curiously  at  the  man  who  had  "no 
appetite  inside  him,"  for  the  Tin  Woodman,  although  he 
had  prepared  so  fine  a  feast  for  his  guests,  ate  not  a  mouth- 
ful himself,  sitting  patiently  in  his  place  to  see  that  all  built 
so  they  could  eat  were  well  and  plentifully  served. 

What  pleased  Button-Bright  most  about  the  dinner  was 
the  tin  orchestra  that  played  sweet  music  while  the  company 

166 


»67 


POLYCHROME  OANOO:  ^<*<T^PU!I*V  3:0  THE  MUSIC 


The     Road     to     Oz 

ate.  The  players  were  not  tin,  being  just  ordinary  Winkies; 
but  the  instruments  they  played  upon  were  all  tin  —  tin 
trumpets,  tin  fiddles,  tin  drums  and  cymbals  and  flutes  and 
horns  and  all.  They  played  so  nicely  the  "Shining  Emperor 
Waltz,"  composed  expressly  in  honor  of  the  Tin  Woodman 
by  Mr.  H.  M.  Wogglebug,  T.  E.,  that  Polly  could  not  re- 
sisting dancing  to  it.  After  she  had  tasted  a  few  dewdrops, 
freshly  gathered  for  her,  she  danced  gracefully  to  the  music 
while  the  others  finished  their  repast;  and  when  she  whirled 
until  her  fleecy  draperies  of  rainbow  hues  enveloped  her  like 
a  cloud,  the  Tin  Woodman  was  so  delighted  that  he  clapped 
his  tin  hands  until  the  noise  of  them  drowned  the  sound  of 
the  cymbals. 

Altogether  it  was  a  merry  meal,  although  Polychrome 
ate  little  and  the  host  nothing  at  all. 

"I  'm  sorry  the  Rainbow's  Daughter  missed  her  mist- 
cakes,"  said  the  Tin  Woodman  to  Dorothy;  "but  by  a  mis- 
take Miss  Polly's  mist-cakes  were  mislaid  and  not  missed  un- 
til now.    I  '11  try  to  have  some  for  her  breakfast." 

They  spent  the  evening  telling  stories,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing left  the  splendid  tin  castle  and  set  out  upon  the  road  to 
the  Emerald  City.  The  Tin  Woodman  went  with  them,  of 
course,  having  by  this  time  been  so  brightly  polished  that  he 
sparkled  like  silver.  His  axe,  which  he  always  carried  with 
him,  had  a  steel  blade  that  was    tin  plated  and  a  handle 

168 


The    Emperor's    Tin    Castle 

covered  with  tin  plate  beautifully  engraved  and  set  with 
diamonds. 

The  Winkies  assembled  before  the  castle  gates  and 
cheered  their  Emperor  as  he  marched  away,  and  it  was  easy 
to  see  that  they  all  loved  him  dearly. 


169 


DOROTHY  let  Button-Bright  wind  up  the  clock-work  in 
the  copper  man  this  morning — his  thinking  machine  first, 
then  his  speech,  and  finally  his  action ;  so  he  would  doubtless 
run  perfectly  until  they  had  reached  the  Emerald  City.  The 
copper  man  and  the  tin  man  were  good  friends,  and  not  so 
much  alike  as  you  might  think.  For  one  was  alive  and  the 
other  moved  by  means  of  machinery;  one  was  tall  and  angu- 
lar and  the  other  short  and  round.  You  could  love  the  Tin 
Woodman  because  he  had  a  fine  nature,  kindly  and  simple; 
but  the  machine  man  you  could  only  admire  without  loving, 
since  to  love  such  a  thing  as  he  was  as  impossible   as  to  love 

170 


Visiting  the  Pumpkin-Field 


a  sewing-machine  or  an  automobile.  Yet  Tik-tok  was  popu- 
lar with  the  people  of  Oz  because  he  was  so  trustworthy,  re- 
liable and  true ;  he  was  sure  to  do  exactly  what  he  was  wound 
up  to  do,  at  all  times  and  in  all  circumstances.  Perhaps  it 
is  better  to  be  a  machine  that  does  its  duty  than  a  flesh-and- 
blood  person  who  will  not,  for  a  dead  truth  is  better  than  a 
live  falsehood. 

About  noon  the  travelers  reached  a  large  field  of  pump- 
kins —  a  vegetable  quite  appropriate  to  the  yellow  country 
of  the  Winkles  —  and  some  of  the  pumpkins  which  grew 
there  were  of  remarkable  size.  Just  before  they  entered  upon 
this  field  they  saw  three  little  mounds  that  looked  like  graves, 
with  a  pretty  headstone  to  each  one  of  them. 

*'What  is  this*?"  asked  Dorothy,  in  wonder. 


171 


The     Road     to     Oz 


"It  's  Jack  Pumpkinhead's  private  graveyard,"  replied 
the  Tin  Woodman. 

"But  I  thought  nobody  ever  died  in  Oz,"  she  said. 

"Nor  do  they;  although  if  one  is  bad,  he  may  be  con- 
demned and  killed  by  the  good  citizens,"  he  answered. 

Dorothy  ran  over  to  the  little  graves  and  read  the  words 
engraved  upon  the  tombstones.    The  first  one  said: 


Here  Lies  the  Mortal  Part  of 

JACK  PUMPKINHEAD 

Which  Spoiled  April  9th. 


She  then  went  to  the  next  stone,  which  read 


Here  Lies  the  Mortal  Part  of 

JACK  PUMPKINHEAD 

Which  Spoiled  October  2nd. 


On  the  third  stone  were  carved  these  words: 


Here  Lies  the  Mortal  Part  of 

JACK  PUMPKINHEAD 

Which  Spoiled  January  24th. 


"Poor  Jack  I"  sighed  Dorothy.  "I  'm  sorry  he  had  to  die 
in  three  parts,  for  I  hoped  to  see  him  again." 

"So  you  shall,"  declared  the  Tin  Woodman,  "since  he  is 
still  alive.  Come  with  me  to  his  house,  for  Jack  is  now  a 
farmer  and  lives  in  this  very  pumpkin  field." 

172 


Visiting  the  Pumpkin-Field 

They  walked  over  to  a  monstrous  big,  hollow  pumpkin 
which  had  a  door  and  windows  cut  through  the  rind.  There 
was  a  stovepipe  running  through  the  stem,  and  six  steps  had 
been  built  leading  up  to  the  front  door. 

They  walked  up  to  this  door  and  looked  in.  Seated  on  a 
bench  was  a  man  clothed  in  a  spotted  shirt,  a  red  vest,  and 
faded  blue  trousers,  whose  body  was  merely  sticks  of  wood, 
jointed  clumsily  together.  On  his  neck  was  set  a  round,  yel- 
low pumpkin,  with  a  face  carved  on  it  such  as  a  boy  often 
carves  on  a  jack-lantern. 

This  queer  man  was  engaged  in  snapping  slippery  pump- 
kin-seeds with  his  wooden  fingers,  trying  to  hit  a  target  on 
the  other  side  of  the  room  with  them.  He  did  not  know  he 
had  visitors  until  Dorothy  exclaimed : 

"Why,  it 's  Jack  Pumpkinhead  himself!" 

He  turned  and  saw  them,  and  at  once  came  forward  to 
greet  the  little  Kansas  girl  and  Nick  Chopper,  and  to  be  in- 
troduced to  their  new  friends. 

Button-Bright  was  at  first  rather  shy  with  the  quaint 
Pumpkinhead,  but  Jack's  face  was  so  jolly  and  smiling  — 
being  carved  that  way  —  that  the  boy  soon  grew  to  like  him. 

"I  thought,  a  while  ago,  that  you  were  buried  in  three 
parts,"  said  Dorothy;  "but  now  I  see  you  're  just  the  same  as 
ever. 

"Not  quite  the  same,  my  dear,  for  my  mouth  is  a  little 

173 


The     Road     to     Oz 

more  one-sided  than  it  used  to  be;  but  pretty  nearly  the  same. 
I  've  a  new  head,  and  this  is  the  fourth  one  I  Ve  owned  since 
Ozma  first  made  me  and  brought  me  to  life  by  sprinkling  me 
with  the  Magic  Powder." 

"What  became  of  the  other  heads,  JackT' 

"They  spoiled  and  I  buried  them,  for  they  were  not  even 
fit  for  pies.  Each  time  Ozma  has  carved  me  a  new  head  just 
like  the  old  one,  and  as  my  body  is  by  far  the  largest  part  of 
me  I  am  still  Jack  Pumpkinhead,  no  matter  how  often  I 
change  my  upper  end.  Once  we  had  a  dreadful  time  to  find 
another  pumpkin,  as  they  were  out  of  season,  and  so  I  was 
obliged  to  wear  my  old  head  a  little  longer  than  was  strictly 
healthy.  But  after  this  sad  experience  I  resolved  to  raise 
pumpkins  myself,  so  as  never  to  be  caught  again  without  one 
handy;  and  now  I  have  this  fine  field  that  you  see  before  you. 
Some  grow  pretty  big  —  too  big  to  be  used  for  heads  —  so  I 
dug  out  this  one  and  use  it  for  a  house." 

"Is  n't  it  damp'?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"Not  very.  There  is  n't  much  left  but  the  shell,  you  see, 
and  it  will  last  a  long  time  yet." 

"I  think  you  are  brighter  than  you  used  to  be.  Jack,"  said 
the  Tin  Woodman.    "Your  last  head  was  a  stupid  one." 

"The  seeds  in  this  one  are  better,"  was  the  reply. 

"Are  you  going  to  Ozma's  party?'  asked  Dorothy- 

"Yes,"  said  he;  "I  would  n't  miss  it  for  anything.    Oz- 

174 


Visiting  the  Pumpkin-Field 

ma  's  my  parent,  you  know,  because  she  built  my  body  and 
carved  my  pumpkin  head.  I  '11  follow  you  to  the  Emerald 
City  to-morrow,  where  we  shall  meet  again.  I  can't  go  to-day, 
because  I  have  to  plant  fresh  pumpkin-seeds  and  water  the 
young  vines.  But  give  my  love  to  Ozma,  and  tell  her  I  '11  be 
there  in  time  for  the  jubilation." 

*'We  will,"  she  promised ;  and  then  they  all  left  him  and 
resumed  their  journey. 


175 


THE  neat  yellow  houses  of  the  Winkles  were  now  to  be  seen 
standing  here  and  there  along  the  roadway,  giving  the  coun- 
try a  more  cheerful  and  civilized  look.  They  were  farm- 
houses, though,  and  set  far  apart;  for  in  the  Land  of  Oz  there 
were  no  towns  or  villages  except  the  magnificent  Emerald 
City  in  its  center. 

Hedges  of  evergreen  or  of  yellow  roses  bordered  the  broad 
highway  and  the  farms  showed  the  care  of  their  industrious 
inhabitants.  The  nearer  the  travelers  came  to  the  great  city 
the  more  prosperous  the  country  became,  and  they  crossed 
many  bridges  over  the  sparkling  streams  and  rivulets  that 
watered  the  lands. 

176 


The  Royal  Chariot  Arrives 

As  they  walked  leisurely  along  the  shaggy  man  said  to 
the  Tin  Woodman : 

"What  sort  of  a  Magic  Powder  was  it,  that  made  your 
friend  the  Pumpkinhead  live?" 

"It  was  called  the  Powder  of  Life,"  was  the  answer;  "and 
it  was  invented  by  a  crooked  Sorcerer  who  lived  in  the  moun- 
tains of  the  North  Country.  A  Witch  named  Mombi  got 
some  of  this  powder  from  the  crooked  Sorcerer  and  took  it 
home  with  her.  Ozma  lived  with  the  Witch  then,  for  it  was 
before  she  became  our  Princess,  while  Mombi  had  trans- 
formed her  into  the  shape  of  a  boy.  Well,  while  Mombi  was 
gone  to  the  crooked  Sorcerer's,  the  boy  made  this  pumpkin- 
headed  man  to  amuse  himself,  and  also  with  the  hope  of 
frightening  the  Witch  with  it  when  she  returned.  But 
Mombi  was  not  scared,  and  she  sprinkled  the  Pumpkinhead 
with  her  Magic  Powder  of  Life,  to  see  if  the  Powder  would 
work.  Ozma  was  watching,  and  saw  the  Pumpkinhead 
come  to  life;  so  that  night  she  took  the  pepper-box  contain- 
ing the  Powder  and  ran  away  with  it  and  with  Jack,  in  search 
of  adventures. 

"Next  day  they  found  a  wooden  Saw-Horse  standing  by 
the  roadside,  and  sprinkled  it  with  the  Powder.  It  came  to 
life  at  once,  and  Jack  Pumpkinhead  rode  the  Saw-Horse  to 
the  Emerald  City." 

177 


The     Road     to     Oz 


"What  became  of  the  Saw-Horse,  afterward?"  asked  the 
shaggy  man,  much  interested  in  this  story. 

"Oh,  it  's  alive  yet,  and  you  will  probably  meet  it  pres- 
ently in  the  Emerald  City.  Afterward  Ozma  used  the  last  of 
the  Powder  to  bring  the  Flying  Gump  to  life;  but  as  soon  as 


■».«*==*!•• 


it  had  carried  her  away  from  her  enemies  the  Gump  was  taken 
apart,  so  it  does  n't  exist  any  more." 

"It  's  too  bad  the  Powder  of  Life  was  all  used  up,"  re- 
marked the  shaggy  man;  "it  would  be  a  handy  thing  to  have 
around." 

"1  am  not  so  sure  of  that,  sir,"  answered  the  Tin  Wood- 
man. "A  while  ago  the  crooked  Sorcerer  who  invented  the 
magic  Powder  fell  down  a  precipice  and  was  killed.    All  his 

178 


The  Royal   Chariot  Arrives 

possessions  went  to  a  relative  —  an  old  woman  named  Dyna, 
who  lives  in  the  Emerald  City.  She  went  to  the  mountains 
where  the  Sorcerer  had  lived  and  brought  away  everything 
she  thought  of  value.  Among  them  was  a  small  bottle  of  the 
Powder  of  Life;  but  of  course  Dyna  did  n't  know  it  was  a 
magic  Powder,  at  all.  It  happened  she  had  once  had  a  big 
blue  bear  for  a  pet;  but  the  bear  choked  to  death  on  a  fish- 
bone one  day,  and  she  loved  it  so  dearly  that  Dyna  made  a 
rug  of  its  skin,  leaving  the  head  and  four  paws  on  the  hide. 
She  kept  the  rug  on  the  floor  of  her  front  parlor." 

"I  've  seen  rugs  like  that,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  nodding, 
"but  never  one  made  from  a  blue  bear." 

"Well,"  continued  the  Tin  Woodman,  "the  old  woman 
had  an  idea  that  the  Powder  in  the  bottle  must  be  moth- 
powder,  because  it  smelled  something  like  moth-powder;  so 
one  day  she  sprinkled  it  on  her  bear  rug  to  keep  the  moths  out 
of  it.  She  said,  looking  lovingly  at  the  skin :  *I  wish  my  dear 
bear  were  alive  again  I'  To  her  horror  the  bear  rug  at  once 
came  to  life,  having  been  sprinkled  with  the  Magic  Powder; 
and  now  this  live  bear  rug  is  a  great  trial  to  her,  and  makes 
her  a  lot  of  trouble." 

"Why^"  asked  the  shaggy  man. 

**Well,  it  stands  up  on  its  four  feet  and  walks  all  around, 
and  gets  in  the  way;  and  that  spoils  it  for  a  rug.  It  can't 
speak,  although  it  is  alive;  for,  while  its  head  might  say 

179 


The     Road     to     Oz 


words,  it  has  no  breath  in  a  solid  body  to  push  the  words  out 
of  its  mouth.  It 's  a  very  slimpsy  affair  altogether,  that  bear 
rug,  and  the  old  woman  is  sorry  it  came  to  life.  Every  day 
she  has  to  scold  it,  and  make  it  lie  down  flat  on  the  parlor 
floor  to  be  walked  upon;  but  sometimes  when  she  goes  to 
market  the  rug  will  hump  up  its  back  skin,  and  stand  on  its 
four  feet,  and  trot  along  after  her." 

"I  should  think  Dyna  would  like  that,"  said  Dorothy. 

"Well,  she  does  n't;  because  every  one  knows  it  is  n't  a 
real  bear,  but  just  a  hollow  skin,  and  so  of  no  actual  use  in  the 
world  except  for  a  rug,"  answered  the  Tin  Woodman. 
"Therefore  I  believe  it  is  a  good  thing  that  all  the  magic 

180 


The  Royal  Chariot  Arrives 

Powder  of  Life  is  now  used  up,  as  it  cannot  cause  any  more 
trouble." 

"Perhaps  you  're  right,"  said  the  shaggy  man,  thought- 
fully. 

At  noon  they  stopped  at  a  farm-house,  where  it  delighted 
the  farmer  and  his  wife  to  be  able  to  give  them  a  good  lunch- 
eon. The  farm  people  knew  Dorothy,  having  seen  her  when 
she  was  in  the  country  before,  and  they  treated  the  little  girl 
with  as  much  respect  as  they  did  the  Emperor,  because  she 
was  a  friend  of  the  powerful  Princess  Ozma. 

They  had  not  proceeded  far  after  leaving  this  farm-house 
before  coming  to  a  high  bridge  over  a  broad  river.  This  river, 
the  Tin  Woodman  informed  them,  was  the  boundary  be- 
tween the  Country  of  the  Winkies  and  the  territory  of  the 
Emerald  City.  The  city  itself  was  still  a  long  way  off,  but 
all  around  it  was  a  green  meadow,  as  pretty  as  a  well-kept 
lawn,  and  in  this  were  neither  houses  nor  farms  to  spoil  the 
beauty  of  the  scene. 

From  the  top  of  the  high  bridge  they  could  see  far  away 
the  magnificent  spires  and  splendid  domes  of  the  superb  city, 
sparkling  like  brilliant  jewels  as  they  towered  above  the 
emerald  walls.  The  shaggy  man  drew  a  deep  breath  of  awe 
and  amazement,  for  never  had  he  dreamed  that  such  a  grand 
and  beautiful  place  could  exist  —  even  in  the  fairyland  of 
Oz. 

181 


The     Road     to     Oz 

Polly  was  so  pleased  that  her  violet  eyes  sparkled  like 
amethysts,  and  she  danced  away  from  her  companions  across 
the  bridge  and  into  a  group  of  feathery  trees  lining  both  the 
roadsides.  These  trees  she  stopped  to  look  at  with  pleasure 
and  surprise,  for  their  leaves  were  shaped  like  ostrich  plumes, 
their  feather  edges  beautifully  curled;  and  all  the  plumes 
were  tinted  in  the  same  dainty  rainbow  hues  that  appeared  in 
Polychrome's  own  pretty  gauze  gown. 

"Father  ought  to  see  these  trees,"  she  murmured;  *'they 
are  almost  as  lovely  as  his  own  rainbows." 

Then  she  gave  a  start  of  terror,  for  beneath  the  trees 
came  stalking  two  great  beasts,  either  one  big  enough  to  crush 
the  little  Daughter  of  the  Rainbow  with  one  blow  of  his 
paws,  or  to  eat  her  up  with  one  snap  of  his  enormous  jaws. 
One  was  a  tawny  lion,  as  tall  as  a  horse,  nearly;  the  other  a 
striped  tiger  almost  the  same  size. 

Polly  was  too  frightened  to  scream  or  to  stir;  she  stood 
still  with  a  wildly  beating  heart  until  Dorothy  rushed  past 
her  and  with  a  glad  cry  threw  her  arms  around  the  huge  lion's 
neck,  hugging  and  kissing  the  beast  with  evident  joy. 

*'0h,  I  'm  so  glad  to  see  you  again!"  cried  the  little  Kan- 
sas girl.  "And  the  Hungry  Tiger,  tool  How  fine  you  're 
both  looking.    Are  you  well  and  happy'?" 

"We  certainly  are,  Dorothy,"  answered  the  Lion,  in  a 
deep  voice  that  sounded  pleasant  and  kind;    "and  we  are 

182 


DOROTHY  THREW  HER  ARMS  AROUND  THE  UON'S  NECK 


The     Road     to     Oz 


greatly  pleased  that  you  have  come  to  Ozma's  party.    It  's 
going  to  be  a  grand  affair,  I  promise  you." 

"There  will  be  lots  of  fat  babies  at  the  celebration,  I 
hear,"  remarked  the  Hungry  Tiger,  yawning  so  that  his 
mouth  opened  dreadfully  wide  and  showed  all  his  big,  sharp 
teeth;  "but  of  course  I  can't  eat  any  of  'em." 

"Is  your  Conscience  still  in  good  order'?"  asked  Dorothy, 
anxiously. 

"Yes;  it  rules  me  like  a  tyrant,"  answered  the  Tiger,  sor- 
rowfully. "I  can  imagine  nothing  more  unpleasant  than  to 
own  a  Conscience,"  and  he  winked  slyly  at  his  friend  the 
Lion. 

"You  're  fooling  me!"  said  Dorothy,  with  a  laugh.  "I 
don't  b'lieve  you  'd  eat  a  baby  if  you  lost  your  Conscience. 
Come  here,  Polly,"  she  called,  "and  be  introduced  to  my 
friends." 

Polly  advanced  rather  shyly. 

"You  have  some  queer  friends,  Dorothy,"  she  said. 

"The  queerness  does  n't  matter,  so  long  as  they  're 
friends,"  was  the  answer.  "This  is  the  Cowardly  Lion,  who 
is  n't  a  coward  at  all,  but  just  thinks  he  is.  The  Wizard  gave 
him  some  courage  once,  and  he  has  part  of  it  left." 

The  Lion  bowed  with  great  dignity  to  Polly. 

"You  are  very  lovely,  my  dear,"  said  he.  "I  hope  we 
shall  be  friends  when  we  are  better  acquainted." 

184 


The  Royal  Chariot  Arrives 

"And  this  is  the  Hungry  Tiger/'  continued  Dorothy. 
"He  says  he  longs  to  eat  fat  babies;  but  the  truth  is  he  is 
never  hungry  at  all,  'cause  he  gets  plenty  to  eat;  and  I  don't 
s'pose  he  'd  hurt  anybody  even  if  he  was  hungry." 

"Hush,  Dorothy,"  whispered  the  Tiger;  "you  '11  ruin  my 
reputation  if  you  are  not  more  discreet.  It  is  n't  what  we  are, 
but  what  folks  think  we  are,  that  counts  in  this  world.  And 
come  to  think  of  it  Miss  Polly  would  make  a  fine  variegated 

9 

breakfast,  I  'm  sure." 


f$S 


«iipi(ici 


THE  others  now  came  up,  and  the  Tin  Woodman  greeted  the 
Lion  and  the  Tiger  cordially.  Button-Bright  yelled  with 
fear  when  Doroth)^  first  took  his  hand  and  led  him  toward  the 
great  beasts;  but  the  girl  insisted  they  were  kind  and  good, 
and  so  the  boy  mustered  up  courage  enough  to  pat  their  heads ; 
after  they  had  spoken  to  him  gently  and  he  had  looked  into 
their  intelligent  eyes  his  fear  vanished  entirely  and  he  was 
so  delighted  with  the  animals  that  he  wanted  Lo  keep  close 
to  them  and  stroke  their  soft  fur  every  minute. 

As  for  the  shaggy  man,  he  might  have  been  afraid  if  he 
had  met  the  beast:?  alone,  or  in  any  other  country;  but  so 

186 


The     Emerald     City 

many  were  the  marvels  in  the  Land  of  Oz  that  he  was  no 
longer  easily  surprised,  and  Dorothy's  friendship  for  tne 
Lion  and  Tiger  was  enough  to  assure  him  they  were  safe  com- 
panions. Toto  barked  at  the  Cowardly  Lion  in  joyous  greet- 
ing, for  he  knew  the  beast  of  old  and  loved  him,  and  it  was 
funny  to  see  how  gently  the  Lion  raised  his  huge  paw  to  pat 
Toto's  head.  The  little  dog  smelled  of  the  Tiger's  nose  and 
the  Tiger  politely  shook  paws  with  him;  so  they  were  quite 
likely  to  become  firm  friends. 

Tik-tok  and  Billina  knew  the  beasts  well,  so  merely  bade 
them  good  day  and  asked  after  their  healths  and  inquired 
about  the  Princess  Ozma. 

Now  it  was  seen  that  the  Cowardly  Lion  and  the  Hungry 
Tiger  were  drawing  behind  them  a  splendid  golden  chariot, 
to  which  they  were  harnessed  by  golden  cords.  The  body  of 
the  chariot  was  decorated  on  the  outside  with  designs  in  clus- 
ters of  sparkling  emeralds,  while  inside  it  was  lined  with 
a  green  and  gold  satin,  and  the  cushions  of  the  seats  were  of 
green  plush  embroidered  in  gold  with  a  crown,  underneath 
which  was  a  monogram. 

"Why,  it 's  Ozma's  own  royal  chariot  I"  exclaimed  Doro- 
thy. 

"Yes,"  said  the  Cowardly  Lion;  "Ozma  sent  us  to  meet 
you  here,  for  she  feared  you  would  be  weary  with  your  long 

187 


The     Road     to     Oz 


walk  and  she  wished  you  to  enter  the  City  in  a  style  becom- 
ing your  exalted  rank." 

"What  I"  cried  Polly,  looking  at  Dorothy  curiously.  "Do 
you  belong  to  the  nobility*?" 


"Just  in  Oz  I  do,"  said  the  child,  "  'cause  Ozma  made  me 
a  Princess,  you  know.  But  when  I  'm  home  in  Kansas  I  'm. 
only  a  country  girl,  and  have  to  help  with  the  churning  and 
wipe  the  dishes  while  Aunt  Em  washes  'em.  Do  you  have  to 
help  wash  dishes  on  the  rainbow,  Polly?' 

"No,  dear,"  answered  Polychrome,  smiling. 

"Well,  I  don't  have  to  work  any  in  Oz,  either,"  said  Dor- 
othy.    "It  's  kind  of  fun  to  be  a  Princess  once  in  a  while; 

don't  you  think  so^" 

188 


The     Emerald     City 

"Dorothy  and  Polychrome  and  Button-Bright  are  all  to 
ride  in  the  chariot,"  said  the  Lion.  "So  get  in,  my  dears,  and 
be  careful  not  to  mar  the  gold  or  put  your  dusty  feet  on  the 
embroidery." 

Button-Bright  was  delighted  to  ride  behind  such  a  su- 
perb team,  and  he  told  Dorothy  it  made  him  feel  like  an  ac- 
tor in  a  circus.  As  the  strides  of  the  animals  brought  them 
nearer  to  the  Emerald  City  every  one  bowed  respectfully  to 
the  children,  as  well  as  to  the  Tin  Woodman,  Tik-tok,  and 
the  shaggy  man,  who  were  following  behind. 

The  Yellow  Hen  had  perched  upon  the  back  of  the  char- 
iot, where  she  could  tell  Dorothy  more  about  her  wonderful 
chickens  as  they  rode.  And  so  the  grand  chariot  came  finally 
to  the  high  wall  surrounding  the  City,  and  paused  before  the 
magnificent  jewel-studded  gates. 

These  were  opened  by  a  cheerful  looking  little  man  who 
wore  green  spectacles  over  his  eyes.  Dorothy  introa  ^ced 
him  to  her  friends  as  the  Guardian  of  the  Gates,  and  they  no- 
ticed a  big  bunch  of  keys  suspended  on  the  golden  chain  that 
hung  around  his  neck.  The  chariot  passed  through  the  outer 
gates  into  a  fine  arched  chamber  built  in  the  thick  wall,  and 
through  the  inner  gates  into  the  streets  of  the  Emerald  City. 

Polychrome  exclaimed  in  rapture  at  the  wondrous  beauty 
that  met  her  eyes  on  every  side  as  they  rode  through  this 
stately  and  imposing  City,  the  equal  of  which  has  never  been 

189 


The     Road     to     Oz 


discovered,  even  in  Fairyland.  Button-Bright  could  only  say 
"My  I"  S(  amazing  was  the  sight;  but  his  eyes  were  wide  open 
and  he  tried  to  look  in  every  direction  at  the  same  time,  so 
as  not  to  miss  anything. 

The  shaggy  man  was  fairly  astounded  at  what  he  saw,  for 
the  graceful  and  handsome  buildings  were  covered  with 
plates  of  gold  and  set  with  emeralds  so  splendid  and  valu- 
able that  in  any  other  part  of  the  world  any  one  of  them  would 
have  been  worth  a  fortune  to  its  owner.  The  sidewalks  were 
superb  marble  slabs  polished  as  smooth  as  glass,  and  the  curbs 
ihat  separated  the  walks  from  the  broad  street  were  also  set 
thick  with  clustered  emeralds.    There  were  many  people  on 


The     Emerald     City 

these  walks  —  men,  women,  and  children  —  all  dressed  in 
handsome  garments  of  silk  or  satin  or  velvet,  with  beautiful 
jewels.  Better  even  than  this:  all  seemed  happy  and  con- 
tented, for  their  faces  were  smiling  and  free  from  care,  and 
music  and  laughter  might  be  heard  on  every  side. 

"Don't  they  work,  at  all?"  asked  the  shaggy  man. 

"To  be  sure  they  work,"  replied  the  Tin  Woodman;  "this 
fair  city  could  not  be  built  or  cared  for  without  labor,  nor 
could  the  fruit  and  vegetables  and  other  food  be  provided  for 
the  inhabitants  to  eat.  But  no  one  works  more  than  half  his 
time,  and  the  people  of  Oz  enjoy  their  labors  as  much  as  they 
do  their  play." 

"It 's  wonderful!'  declared  the  shaggy  man.  "I  do  hope 
Ozma  will  let  me  liv  ^  here." 

The  chariot,  winding  through  many  charming  streets, 
paused  before  a  building  so  vast  and  noble  and  elegant  that 
even  Button-Bright  guessed  at  once  that  it  was  the  Royal 
Palace.  Its  gardens  and  ample  grounds  were  surrounded  by 
a  separate  wall,  not  so  high  or  thick  as  the  wall  around  the 
City,  but  more  daintily  designed  and  built  all  of  green  mar- 
ble. The  gates  flew  open  as  the  chariot  appeared  before  them, 
and  the  Cowardly  Lion  and  Hungry  Tiger  trotted  up  a  jew- 
eled driveway  to  the  front  door  of  the  palace  and  stopped 
short. 

"Here  we  are !"  said  Dorothy,  gaily,  and  helped  Button- 

191 


The     Road     to     Oz 

Bright  from  the  chariot.  Polychrome  leaped  out  lightly  after 
them,  and  they  were  greeted  by  a  crowd  of  gorgeously  dressed 
servants  who  bowed  low  as  the  visitors  mounted  the  marble 
steps.  At  their  head  was  a  pretty  little  maid  with  dark  hair 
and  eyes,  dressed  all  in  green  embroidered  with  silver.  Dor- 
othy ran  up  to  her  with  evident  pleasure,  and  exclaimed : 

"O  Jellia  Jamb!  I  'm  so  glad  to  see  you  again.  Where  's 
Ozma?' 

"In  her  room,  your  Highness,"  replied  the  little  maid  de- 
murely, for  this  was  Ozma's  favorite  attendant.  "She  wishes 
you  to  come  to  her  as  soon  as  you  have  rested  and  changed 
your  dress.  Princess  Dorothy.  And  you  and  your  friends  are 
to  dine  with  her  this  evening." 

"When  is  her  birthday,  Jellia?"  asked  the  girl. 

"Day  after  to-morrow,  your  Highness." 

"And  where  's  the  Scarecrow?" 

"He  's  gone  into  the  Munchkin  country  to  get  some  fresh 
straw  to  stuff  himself  with,  in  honor  of  Ozma's  celebration," 
replied  the  maid.  "He  returns  to  the  Emerald  City  to-mor- 
row, he  said." 

By  this  time  Tik-tok,  the  Tin  Woodman,  and  the  shaggy 
man  had  arrived  and  the  chariot  had  gone  around  to  the  back 
of  the  palace,  Billina  going  with  the  Lion  and  Tiger  to  see 
her  chickens  after  her  absence  from  them.  But  Toto  stayed 
close  beside  Dorothy. 

192 


The     Road     to     Oz 


"Come  in,  please,"  said  Jellia  Jamb;  "it  shall  be  our 
pleasant  duty  to  escort  all  of  you  to  the  rooms  prepared  for 
your  use." 

The  shaggy  man  hesitated.  Dorothy  had  never  known 
him  to  be  ashamed  of  his  shaggy  looks  before,  but  now  that 
he  was  surrounded  by  so  much  magnificence  and  splendor 
the  shaggy  man  felt  sadly  out  of  place. 

Dorothy  assured  him  that  all  her  friends  were  welcome  at 
Ozma's  palace,  so  he  carefully  dusted  his  shaggy  shoes  with 
his  shaggy  handkerchief  and  entered  the  grand  hall  after  the 
others. 

Tik-tok  lived  at  the  Royal  Palace  and  the  Tin  Wood- 
man alwavs  had  the  same  room  whenever  he  visited  Ozma, 


The     Emerald     City 

so  these  two  went  at  once  to  remove  the  dust  of  the  journey 
from  their  shining  bodies.  Dorothy  also  had  a  pretty  suite  of 
rooms  which  she  always  occupied  when  in  the  Emerald  City; 
but  several  servants  walked  ahead  politely  to  show  the  way, 
although  she  was  quite  sure  she  could  find  the  rooms  herself. 
She  took  Button-Bright  with  her,  because  he  seemed  too  small 
to  be  left  alone  in  such  a  big  palace ;  but  Jellia  Jamb  herself 
ushered  the  beautiful  Daughter  of  the  Rainbow  to  her  apart- 
ments, because  it  was  easy  to  see  that  Polychrome  was  used 
to  splendid  palaces  and  was  therefore  entitled  to  especial  at- 
tention. 


19^ 


THE  shaggy  man  stood  in  the  great  hall,  his  shaggy  hat  in 
his  hands,  wondering  what  would  become  of  him.  He  had 
never  been  a  guest  in  a  fine  palace  before;  perhaps  he  had 
never  been  a  guest  anywhere.  In  the  big,  cold,  outside  world 
people  did  not  invite  shaggy  men  to  their  homes,  and  this 
shaggy  man  of  ours  had  slept  more  in  hay-lofts  and  stables 
than  in  comfortable  rooms.  When  the  others  left  the  great 
hall  he  eyed  the  splendidly  dressed  servants  of  the  Princess 
Ozma  as  if  he  expected  to  be  ordered  out;  but  one  of  them 
bowed  before  him  as  respectfully  as  if  he  had  been  a  prince, 

and  said : 

196 


The  Shaggy  Man's  Welcome 

*Termit  me,  sir,  to  conduct  you  to  your  apartments." 
The  shaggy  man  drew  a  long  breath  and  took  courage. 
"Very  well,"  he  answered;  "I  'm  ready." 
Through  the  big  hall  they  went,  up  the  grand  staircase 


carpeted  thick  with  velvet,  and  so  along  a  wide  corridor  to  a 
carved  doorway.  Here  the  servant  paused,  and  opening  the 
door  said  with  polite  deference : 

"Be  good  enough  to  enter,  sir,  and  make  yourself  at  home 
in  the  rooms  our  Royal  Ozma  has  ordered  prepared  for  you. 
Whatever  you  see  is  for  you  to  use  and  enjoy,  as  if  your  own. 
The  Princess  dines  at  seven,  and  I  shall  be  here  in  time  to 
lead  you  to  the  drawing-room,  where  vou  will  be  privileged 

197 


The     Road     to     Oz 

to  meet  the  lovely  Ruler  of  Oz.  Is  there  any  command,  in 
the  meantime,  with  which  you  desire  to  honor  me?" 

*'No,"  said  the  shaggy  man;  "but  I  'm  much  obliged." 

He  entered  the  room  and  shut  the  door,  and  for  a  time 
stood  in  bewilderment,  admiring  the  grandeur  before  him. 

He  had  been  given  one  of  the  handsomest  apartments  in 
the  most  magnificent  palace  in  the  world,  and  you  can  not 
wonder  that  his  good  fortune  astonished  and  awed  him  until 
he  grew  used  to  his  surroundings. 

The  furniture  was  upholstered  in  cloth  of  gold,  with  the 
royal  crown  embroidered  upon  it  in  scarlet.  The  rug  upon 
the  marble  floor  was  so  thick  and  soft  that  he  could  not  hear 
the  sound  of  his  own  footsteps,  and  upon  the  walls  were 
splendid  tapestries  woven  with  scenes  from  the  Land  of  Oz. 
Books  and  ornaments  were  scattered  about  in  profusion,  and 
the  shaggy  man  thought  he  had  never  seen  so  many  pretty 
things  in  one  place  before.  In  one  corner  played  a  tinkling 
fountain  of  perfumed  water,  and  in  another  was  a  table  bear- 
ing a  golden  tray  loaded  with  freshly  gathered  fruit,  includ- 
ing several  of  the  red-cheeked  apples  that  the  shaggy  man 
loved. 

At  the  farther  end  of  this  charming  room  was  an  open 
doorway,  and  he  crossed  over  to  find  himself  in  a  bedroom 
containing  more  comforts  than  the  shaggy  man  had  ever  be- 
fore imagined.    The  bedstead  was  of  gold  and  set  with  many 

198 


The  Shaggy  Man's  Welcome 

brilliant  diamonds,  and  the  coverlet  had  designs  of  pearls 
and  rubies  sewed  upon  it.  At  one  side  of  the  bedroom  was 
a  dainty  dressing-room,  with  closets  containing  a  large  assort- 
ment of  fresh  clothing;  and  beyond  this  was  the  bath  —  a 
large  room  having  a  marble  pool  big  enough  to  swim  in,  with 
white  marble  steps  leading  down  to  the  water.  Around  the 
edge  of  the  pool  were  set  rows  of  fine  emeralds  as  large  as 
door-knobs,  while  the  water  of  the  bath  was  clear  as  crystal. 
For  a  time  the  shaggy  man  gazed  upon  all  this  luxury  with 
silent  amazement.  Then  he  decided,  being  wise  in  his  way, 
to  take  advantage  of  his  good  fortune.  He  removed  his 
shaggy  boots  and  his  shaggy  clothing,  and  bathed  in  the  pool 
with  rare  enjoyment.  After  he  had  dried  himself  with  the 
soft  towels  he  went  into  the  dressing-room  and  took  fresh  lin- 
en from  the  drawers  and  put  it  on,  finding  that  everything 
fitted  him  exactly.  He  examined  the  contents  of  the  closets 
and  selected  an  elegant  suit  of  clothing.  Strangely  enough, 
everything  about  it  was  shaggy,  although  so  new  and  beauti- 
ful, and  he  sighed  with  contentment  to  realize  that  he  could 
now  be  finely  dressed  and  still  be  the  Shaggy  Man.  His  coat 
was  of  rose-colored  velvet,  trimmed  with  shags  and  bobtails, 
with  buttons  of  blood-red  rubies  and  golden  shags  around  the 
edges.  His  vest  was  a  shaggy  satin  of  a  delicate  cream  color, 
and  his  knee-breeches  of  rose  velvet  trimmed  like  the  coat. 
Shaggy  creamy  stockings  of  silk,  and  shaggy  slippers  of  rose 

199 


THE  SHAGGY  MAN  ADMIRES  HIS  NEW  CLOTHES 


200 


The  Shaggy  Man's  Welcome 

leather  with  ruby  buckles,  completed  his  costume,  and  when 
he  was  thus  attired  the  shaggy  man  looked  at  himself  in  a  long 
mirror  with  great  admiration.  On  a  table  he  found  a  mother- 
of-pearl  chest  decorated  with  delicate  silver  vines  and  flowers 
of  clustered  rubies,  and  on  the  cover  was  a  silver  plate  en- 
graved with  these  words: 


THE  SHAGGY  MAN: 
HIS  BOX  OF  ORNAMENTS 


The  chest  was  not  locked,  so  he  opened  it  and  was  almost 
dazzled  by  the  brilliance  of  the  rich  jewels  it  contained. 
After  admiring  the  pretty  things,  he  took  out  a  fine  golden 
watch  with  a  big  chain,  several  handsome  finger-rings,  and 
an  ornament  of  rubies  to  pin  upon  the  breast  of  his  shaggy 
shirt-bosom.  Having  carefully  brushed  his  hair  and  whis- 
kers all  the  wrong  way,  to  make  them  look  as  shaggy  as  pos- 
sible, the  shaggy  man  breathed  a  deep  sigh  of  joy  and  decid- 
ed he  was  ready  to  meet  the  Royal  Princess  as  soon  as  she 
sent  for  him.  While  he  waited  he  returned  to  the  beautiful 
sitting  room  and  ate  several  of  the  red-cheeked  apples  to  pass 
away  the  time. 

Meanwhile  Dorothy  had  dressed  herself  in  a  pretty  gown 
of  soft  grey  embroidered  with  silver,  and  put  a  blue-and-gold 
suit  of  satin  upon  little  Button-Bright,  who  looked  as  sweet 

201 


The     Road     to     Oz 

as  a  cherub  in  it.  Followed  by  the  boy  and  Toto  —  the  dog 
with  a  new  green  ribbon  around  his  neck  —  she  hastened 
down  to  the  splendid  drawing-room  of  the  palace,  where, 
seated  upon  an  exquisite  throne  of  carved  malachite  and 
nestled  amongst  its  green  satin  cushions  was  the  lovely  Prin- 
cess Ozma,  waiting  eagerly  to  welcome  her  friend. 


202 


THE  royal  historians  of  Oz,  who  are  fine  writers  and  know 

any  number  of  big  words,  have  often  tried  to  describe  the  rare 

beauty  of  Ozma  and  failed  because  the  words  were  not  good 

enough.    So  of  course  I  can  not  hope  to  tell  you  how  great 

was  the  charm  of  this  little  Princess,  or  how  her  loveliness  put 

to  shame  all  the  sparkling  jewels  and  magnificent  luxury  that 

surrounded  her  in  this  her  royal  palace.    Whatever  else  was 

beautiful  or  dainty  or  delightful  of  itself  faded  to  dullne?.?. 

when  contrasted  with  Ozma's  bewitching  face,  and  it  has 

often  been  said  by  those  who  know  that  no  other  ruler  in  all 

the  world  can  ever  hope  to  equal  the  gracious  charm  of  her 

manner. 

203 


The     Road     to     Oz 

Everything  about  Ozma  attracted  one,  and  she  inspired 
love  and  the  sweetest  affection  rather  than  awe  or  ordinary 
admiration.  Dorothy  threw  her  arms  around  her  little  friend 
and  hugged  and  kissed  her  rapturously,  and  Toto  barked  joy- 
fully and  Button-Bright  smiled  a  happy  smile  and  consented 
to  sit  on  the  soft  cushions  close  beside  the  Princess. 

"Why  did  n't  you  send  me  word  you  were  going  to  have  a 
birthday  party?"  asked  the  little  Kansas  girl,  when  the  first 
greetings  were  over. 

"Did  n't  I?"  asked  Ozma,  her  pretty  eyes  dancing  with 
merriment. 

"Did  you?"  replied  Dorothy,  trying  to  think. 

"Who  do  you  imagine,  dear,  mixed  up  those  roads,  so  as 
to  start  you  wandering  in  the  direction  of  Oz?"  inquired  the 
Princess. 

"Oh  I  I  never  'spected  you  of  that,"  cried  Dorothy. 

"I  've  watched  you  in  my  Magic  Picture  all  the  way 
here,"  declared  Ozma,  "and  twice  I  thought  I  should  have  to 
use  the  Magic  Belt  to  save  you  and  transport  you  to  the 
Emerald  City.  Once  was  when  the  Scoodlers  caught  you, 
and  again  when  you  reached  the  Deadly  Desert.  But  the 
shaggy  man  was  able  to  help  you  out  both  times,  so  I  did  not 
interfere." 

"Do  you  know  who  Button-Bright  is?"  asked  Dorothy. 

204 


Princess     Ozma     of     Oz 


"No;  I  never  saw  him  until  yoa  found  him  in  the  road, 
and  then  only  in  my  Magic  Picture." 

"And  did  you  send  Polly  to  us?' 

"No,  dear;  the  Rainbow's  Daughter  slid  from  her  father's 
pretty  arch  just  in  time  to  meet  you." 

"Well,"  said  Dorothy,  "I  've  promised  King  Dox  of  Fox- 
ville  and  King  Kik-abray  of  Dunkiton  that  I  'd  ask  you  to 
invite  them  to  your  party." 

"I  have  already  done  that,"  returned  Ozma,  "because  I 
thought  it  would  please  you  to  favor  them." 

"Did  you  'vite  the  Musicker?"  asked  Button-Bright. 

"No ;  because  he  would  be  too  noisy,  and  might  interfere 
with  the  comfort  of  others-  When  music  is  not  very  good,  and 

205 


The     Road     to     Oz 

is  indulged  in  all  the  time,  it  is  better  that  the  performer 
should  be  alone,"  said  the  Princess. 

"I  like  the  Musicker's  music,"  declared  the  boy,  gravely. 

"But  I  don't,"  said  Dorothy. 

"Well,  there  will  be  plenty  of  music  at  my  celebration," 
promised  Ozma;  "so  I  've  an  idea  Button-Bright  won't  miss 
the  Musicker  at  all." 

Just  then  Polychrome  danced  in,  and  Ozma  rose  to  greet 
the  Rainbow's  Daughter  in  her  sweetest  and  most  cordial 
manner. 

Dorothy  thought  she  had  never  seen  two  prettier  creatures 
together  than  these  lovely  maidens;  but  Polly  knew  at  once 
her  own  dainty  beauty  could  not  match  that  of  Ozma,  yet 
was  not  a  bit  jealous  because  this  was  so. 

The  Wizard  of  Oz  was  announced,  and  a  dried-up,  little, 
old  man,  clothed  all  in  black,  entered  the  drawing-room.  His 
face  was  cheery  and  his  eyes  twinkling  with  humor,  so  Polly 
and  Button-Bright  were  not  at  all  afraid  of  the  wonderful 
personage  whose  fame  as  a  humbug  magician  had  spread 
throughout  the  world.  After  greeting  Dorothy  with  much  af- 
fection, he  stood  modestly  behind  Ozma's  throne  and  listened 
to  the  lively  prattle  of  the  young  people. 

Now  the  shaggy  man  appeared,  and  so  startling  was  his 
appearance,  all  clad  in  shaggy  new  raiment,  that  Dorothy 

206 


Princess     Ozma     of     Oz 


cried  "Oh!"  and  clasped  her  hands  impulsively  as  she  ex- 
amined her  friend  with  pleased  eyes. 

**He  's  still  shaggy,  all  right,"  remarked  Button-Bright; 
and  Ozma  nodded  brightly  because  she  had  meant  the  shaggy 


man  to  remain  shaggy  when  she  provided  his  new  clothes  for 
him. 

Dorothy  led  him  toward  the  throne,  as  he  was  shy  in  such 
fine  company,  and  presented  him  gracefully  to  the  Princess, 
saying : 

"This,  your  Highness,  is  my  friend,  the  shaggy  man,  who 
owns  the  Love  Magnet." 

"You  are  welcome  to  Oz,"  said  the  girl  Ruler,  in  gracious 

207 


The     Road     to     Oz 

accents.    "But  tell  me,  sir,  where  did  you  get  the  Love  Mag- 
net which  you  say  you  own*?" 

The  shaggy  man  grew  red  and  looked  downcast,  as  he  an- 
swered in  a  low  voice : 

"I  stole  it,  your  Majesty." 
"Oh,    Shaggy  Man!"    cried   Dorothy.     "How    dreadful  I 
And  you  told  me  the  Eskimo  gave  you  the  Love  Magnet." 

He  shuffled  first  on  one  foot  and  then  on  the  other,  much 
embarrassed. 

"I  told  you  a  falsehood,  Dorothy,"  he  said;  "but  now, 
having  bathed  in  the  Truth  Pond,  I  must  tell  nothing  but  the 
truth-" 

"Why  did  you  steal  it'?"  asked  Ozma,  gently. 

"Because  no  one  loved  me,  or  cared  for  me,"  said  the 
shaggy  man,  "and  I  wanted  to  be  loved  a  great  deal.  It  was 
owned  by  a  girl  in  Butteriield  who  was  loved  too  much,  so 
that  the  young  men  quarreled  over  her,  which  made  her  un- 
happy. After  I  had  stolen  the  Magnet  from  her,  only  one 
young  man  continued  to  love  the  girl,  and  she  married  him 
and  regained  her  happiness." 

"Are  you  sorry  you  stole  it?"  asked  the  Princess. 

"No,  your  Highness;  I  'm  glad,"  he  answered;  "for  it  has 
pleased  me  to  be  loved,  and  if  Dorothy  had  not  cared  for  me 
I  could  not  have  accompanied  her  to  this  beautiful  Land  of 
Oz,  or  met  its  kind-hearted  Ruler.     Now  that  I'm  here,  I 

208 


ao9, 


IN  THE  ROYAI.  PALACE  OF  OZ 


The     Road     to     Oz 

hope  to  remain,  and  to  become  one  of  your  Majesty's  most 
faithful  subjects." 

"But  in  Oz  we  are  loved  for  ourselves  alone,  and  for  our 
kindness  to  one  another,  and  for  our  good  deeds,"  she  said. 

*'I  '11  give  up  the  Love  Magnet,"  said  the  shaggy  man, 
eagerly;  "Dorothy  shall  have  it." 

"But  every  one  loves  Dorothy  already,"  declared  the 
Wizard. 

"Then  Button-Bright  shall  have  it." 

"Don't  want  it,"  said  the  boy,  promptly. 

"Then  I  '11  give  it  to  the  Wizard,  for  I  'm  sure  the  lovely 
Princess  Ozma  does  not  need  it." 

"All  my  people  love  the  Wizard,  too,"  announced  the 
Princess,  laughing;  "so  we  will  hang  the  Love  Magnet  over 
the  gates  of  the  Emerald  City,  that  whoever  shall  enter  or 
leave  the  gates  may  be  loved  and  loving." 

"That  is  a  good  idea,"  said  the  shaggy  man;  "I  agree  to 
it  most  willingly." 

Those  assembled  now  went  in  to  dinner,  which  you  may 
imagine  was  a  grand  affair;  and  afterward  Ozma  asked  the 
Wizard  to  give  them  an  exhibition  of  his  magic. 

The  Wizard  took  eight  tin)^  white  piglets  from  an  inside 
pocket  and  set  them  on  the  table.  One  was  dressed  like  a 
clown,  and  performed  funny  antics,  and  the  others  leaped 
over  the  spoons  and  dishes  and  ran  around  the  table  like  race- 

210 


Princess     Ozma     of     Oz 


horses,  and  turned  hand-springs  and  were  so  sprightly  and 
amusing  that  they  kept  the  company  in  one  roar  of  merry 
laughter.  The  Wizard  had  trained  these  pets  to  do  many  cu- 
rious things,  and  they  were  so  little  and  so  cunning  and  soft 
that  Polychrome  loved  to  pick  them  up  as  they  passed  near 
her  place  and  fondle  them  as  if  they  were  kittens- 
It  was  late  when  the  entertainment  ended,  and  they  sep- 
arated to  go  to  their  rooms. 

"To-morrow,"  said  Ozma,  "my  invited  guests  will  arrive, 
and  you  will  find  among  them  some  interesting  and  curious 
people,  I  promise  you.  The  next  day  will  be  my  birthday, 
and  the  festivities  will  be  held  on  the  broad  green  just  out- 


211 


The     Road     to     Oz 

side  the  gates  of  the  City,  where  all  my  people  can  assemble 
without  being  crowded." 

"I  hope  the  Scarecrow  won't  be  late,"  said  Dorothy,  anx- 
iously. 

"Oh,  he  is  sure  to  return  to-morrow,"  answered  Ozma. 
"He  wanted  new  straw  to  stuff  himself  with,  so  he  went  to  the 
Munchkin  Country,  where  straw  is  plentiful." 

With  this  the  Princess  bade  her  guests  good  night  and 
went  to  her  own  room. 


ai2 


NEXT  morning  Dorothy's  breakfast  was  served  in  her  own 
pretty  sitting  room,  and  she  sent  to  invite  Polly  and  the 
shaggy  man  to  join  her  and  Button-Bright  at  the  meal.  They 
came  gladly,  and  Toto  also  had  breakfast  with  them,  so  that 
the  little  party  that  had  traveled  together  to  Oz  was  once 
more  reunited. 

No  sooner  had  they  finished  eating  than  they  heard  the 
distant  blast  of  many  trumpets,  and  the  sound  of  a  brass  band 
playing  martial  music ;  so  they  all  went  out  upon  the  balcony. 
This  was  at  the  front  of  the  palace  and  overlooked  the  streets 
of  the  City,  being  higher  than  the  wall  that  shut  in  the  palace 

213 


The     Road     to     Oz 


grounds.  They  saw  approaching  down  the  street  a  band  of 
jiusicians,  playing  as  hard  and  loud  as  they  could,  while  the 
people  of  the  Emerald  City  crowded  the  sidewalks  and 
cheered  so  lustily  that  they  almost  drowned  the  noise  of  the 
drums  and  horns. 


Dorothy  looked  to  see  what  they  were  cheering  at,  and 

discovered  that  behind  the  band  was  the  famous  Scarecrow, 

riding  proudly  upon  the  back  of  a  wooden  Saw-Horse  which 

Dranced  along  the  street  almost  as  gracefully  as  if  it  had  been 

made  of  flesh.  Its  hoofs,  or  rather  the  ends  of  its  wooden  legs, 

were  shod  with  plates  of  solid  gold,  and  the  saddle  strapped 

to  the  wooden  body  was  richly  embroidered  and  glittered 

with  jewels. 

214 


Dorothy  Receives  the  Guests 

As  he  reached  the  palace  the  Scarecrow  looked  up  and 
saw  Dorothy,  and  at  once  waved  his  peaked  hat  at  her  in 
greeting.  He  rode  up  to  the  front  door  and  dismounted,  and 
the  band  stopped  playing  and  went  away  and  the  crowds  of 
people  returned  to  their  dwellings. 

By  the  time  Dorothy  and  her  friends  had  re-entered  her 
room  the  Scarecrow  was  there,  and  he  gave  the  girl  a  hearty 
embrace  and  shook  the  hands  of  the  others  with  his  own 
squashy  hands,  which  were  white  gloves  filled  with  straw. 

The  shaggy  man,  Button-Bright,  and  Polychrome  stared 
hard  at  this  celebrated  person,  who  was  acknowledged  to  be 
the  most  popular  and  most  beloved  man  in  all  the  Land  of 
Oz. 

"Why,  your  face  has  been  newly  painted  I"  exclaimed 
Dorothy,  when  the  first  greetings  were  over. 

"I  had  it  touched  up  a  bit  by  the  Munchkin  farmer  who 
first  made  me."  answered  the  Scarecrow,  pleasantly.  "My 
complexion  had  become  a  bit  grey  and  faded,  you  know,  and 
the  paint  had  peeled  off  one  end  of  my  mouth,  so  I  could  n't 
talk  quite  straight.  Now  I  feel  like  myself  again,  and  I  may 
say  without  immodesty  that  my  body  is  stuffed  with  the  love- 
liest oat-straw  in  all  Oz."  He  pushed  against  his  chest. 
"Hear  me  crunkle'?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,"  said  Dorothy;  "you  sound  fine." 

Button-Bright  was  wonderfully  attracted  by  the  straw 

21^ 


The     Road     to     Oz 

man,  and  so  was  Polly.    The  shaggy  man  treated  him  with 
great  respect,  because  he  was  so  queerly  made. 

Jellia  Jamb  now  came  to  say  that  Ozma  wanted  Princess 
Dorothy  to  receive  the  invited  guests  in  the  Throne-Room,  as 
they  arrived.  The  Ruler  was  herself  busy  ordering  the  prepa- 
rations for  the  morrow's  festivities,  so  she  wished  her  friend 
to  act  in  her  place. 

Dorothy  willingly  agreed,  being  the  only  other  Princess 
in  the  Emerald  City;  so  she  went  to  the  great  Throne-Room 
and  sat  in  Ozma's  seat,  placing  Polly  on  one  side  of  her  and 
Button-Bright  on  the  other.  The  Scarecrow  stood  at  the  left 
of  the  throne  and  the  Tin  Woodman  at  the  right,  while  the 
Wonderful  Wizard  and  the  shaggy  man  stood  behind. 

The  Cowardly  Lion  and  the  Hungry  Tiger  came  in,  with 
bright  new  bows  of  ribbon  on  their  collars  and  tails.  After 
greeting  Dorothy  affectionately  the  huge  beasts  lay  down  at 
the  foot  of  the  throne. 

While  they  waited,  the  Scarecrow,  who  was  near  the  little 
boy^  asked : 

"Why  are  you  called  Button-Bright?' 

"Don't  know,"  was  the  answer. 

"Oh  yes,  you  do,  dear,"  said  Dorothy.  "Tell  the  Scare- 
crow how  you  got  your  name." 

"Papa  always  said  I  was  bright  as  a  button,  so  mamma  al- 
ways called  me  Button-Bright,"  announced  the  boy. 

216 


Dorothy  Receives  the  Guests 

"Where  is  your  mamma?"  asked  the  Scarecrow. 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"Where  is  your  home?"  asked  the  Scarecrow. 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"Don't  you  want  to  find  your  mamma  again?"  asked  the 
Scarecrow. 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright,  calmly. 

The  Scarecrow  looked  thoughtful. 

"Your  papa  may  have  been  right,"  he  observed;  "but 
there  are  many  kinds  of  buttons,  you  see.  There  are  silver 
and  gold  buttons,  which  are  highly  polished  and  glitter 
brightly.  There  are  pearl  and  rubber  buttons,  and  other 
kinds,  with  surfaces  more  or  less  bright.  But  there  is  still 
another  sort  of  button  which  is  covered  with  dull  cloth,  and 
that  must  be  the  sort  your  papa  meant  when  he  said  you  were 
bright  as  a  button.    Don't  you  think  so?" 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 
Jack  Pumpkinhead  arrived,  wearing  a  pair  of  new  white 
kid  gloves ;  and  he  brought  a  birthday  present  for  Ozma  con- 
sisting of  a  necklace  of  pumpkin-seeds.  In  each  seed  was  set 
a  sparkling  carolite,  which  is  considered  the  rarest  and  most 
beautiful  gem  that  exists.  The  necklace  was  in  a  plush  case 
and  Jellia  Jamb  put  it  on  a  table  with  the  Princess  Ozma's 
other  presents. 

Next  came  a  tall,  beautiful  woman  clothed  in  a  splendid 

217 


The     Road     to     Oz 


trailing  gown,  trimmed  with  exquisite  lace  as  fine  as  cobweb. 
This  was  the  important  Sorceress  known  as  Glinda  the  Good, 
who  had  been  of  great  assistance  to  both  Ozma  and  Dorothy. 
There  was  no  humbug  about  her  magic,  you  may  be  sure,  and 
Glinda  was  as  kind  as  she  was  powerful.  She  greeted  Dor- 
othy most  lovingly,  and  kissed  Button-Bright  and  Polly,  and 
smiled  upon  the  shaggy  man,  after  which  Jellia  Jamb  led  the 
Sorceress  to  one  of  the  most  magnificent  rooms  of  the  royal 
palace  and  appointed  fifty  servants  to  wait  upon  her. 

The  next  arrival  was  Mr.  H.  M.  Woggle-Bug,  T.  E. ;  the 
"H.  M."  meaning  Highly  Magnified  and  the  "T.  E."  mean- 
ing Thoroughly  Educated.  The  Woggle-Bug  was  head  pro- 
fessor at  the  Royal  College  of  Oz,  and  he  had  composed  a  fine 


Dorothy   Receives  the  Guests 

Ode  in  honor  of  Ozma's  birthday.    This  he  wanted  to  read  to 
them;  but  the  Scarecrow  wouldn't  let  him. 

Soon  they  heard  a  clucking  sound  and  a  chorus  of  * 'cheep! 
cheep  I"  and  a  servant  threw  open  the  door  to  allow  Billina 
and  her  ten  fluffy  chicks  to  enter  the  Throne-Room.  As  the 
Yellow  Hen  marched  proudly  at  the  head  of  her  family,  Dor- 
othy cried,  "Oh,  you  lovely  things!"  and  ran  down  from  her 
seat  to  pet  the  little  yellow  downy  balls.  Billina  wore  a  pearl 
necklace,  and  around  the  neck  of  each  chicken  was  a  tiny  gold 
chain  holding  a  locket  with  the  letter  "D"  engraved  upon  the 
outside. 

"Open  the  lockets,  Dorothy,"  said  Billina.  The  girl 
obeyed  and  found  a  picture  of  herself  in  each  locket.  **They 
were  named  after  you,  my  dear,"  continued  the  Yellow  Hen, 
"so  I  wanted  all  my  chickens  to  wear  your  picture.  Cluck  — 
cluck  I  come  here,  Dorothy  —  this  minute  I"  she  cried,  for  the 
chickens  were  scattered  and  wandering  all  around  the  big 
room. 

They  obeyed  the  call  at  once,  and  came  running  as  fast 
as  they  could,  fluttering  their  fluffy  wings  in  a  laughable  way. 

It  was  lucky  that  Billina  gathered  the  little  ones  under 
her  soft  breast  just  then,  for  Tik-tok  came  in  and  tramped 
up  to  the  throne  on  his  flat  copper  feet. 

"I  am  all  wound  up  and  work-ing  fine-ly,"  said  the  clock- 
work man  to  Dorothy. 

219 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"I  can  hear  him  tick,"  declared  Button-Bright. 

''You  are  quite  the  polished  gentleman,"  said  the  Tin 
Woodman.  "Stand  up  here  beside  the  shaggy  man,  Tik-tok, 
and  help  receive  the  company." 

Dorothy  placed  soft  cushions  in  a  corner  for  Billina  and 
her  chicks,  and  had  just  returned  to  the  Throne  and  seated 
herself  when  the  playing  of  the  royal  band  outside  the  palace 
announced  the  approach  of  distinguished  guests. 

And  my,  how  they  did  stare  when  the  High  Chamberlain 
threw  open  the  doors  and  the  visitors  entered  the  Throne- 
Room! 

First  walked  a  gingerbread  man,  neatly  formed  and 
baked  to  a  lovely  brown  tint.  He  wore  a  silk  hat  and  carried 
a  candy  cane  prettily  striped  with  red  and  yellow.  His  shirt- 
front  and  cuffs  were  white  frosting,  and  the  buttons  on  his 
coat  were  licorice  drops. 

Behind  the  gingerbread  man  came  a  child  with  flaxen  hair 
and  merry  blue  eyes,  dressed  in  white  pajamas,  with  sandals 
on  the  soles  of  its  pretty  bare  feet.  The  child  looked  around 
smiling  and  thrust  its  hands  into  the  pockets  of  the  pajamas. 
Close  after  it  came  a  big  rubber  bear,  walking  erect  on  its 
hind  feet.  The  bear  had  twinkling  black  eyes  and  its  body 
looked  as  if  it  had  been  pumped  full  of  air. 

Following  these  curious  visitors  were  two  tall,  thin  men 
and  two  short,  fat  men,  all  four  dressed  in  gorgeous  uniforms. 

220 


KING  DOUGH  THE  HFAD  BOOLEVWAG.  AND  PARA  BRUIN 


'2  O.J 


The     Road     to     Oz 


Ozma's  High  Chamberlain  now  hurried  forward  to  an- 
nounce the  names  of  the  new  arrivals,  calling  out  in  a  loud 
voice : 

"His  Gracious  and  Most  Edible  Majesty,  King  Dough 
the  First,  Ruler  of  the  Two  Kingdoms  of  Hiland  and  Lo- 
land.  Also  the  Head  Booleywag  of  his  Majesty,  known  as 
Chick  the  Cherub,  and  their  faithful  friend  Para  Bruin,  the 
rubber  bear." 

These  great  personages  bowed  low  as  their  names  were 
called,  and  Doroth}^  hastened  to  introduce  them  to  the  assem- 
bled company.  They  were  the  first  foreign  arrivals,  and  the 
friends  of  Princess  Ozma  were  polite  to  them  and  tried  to 
make  them  feel  that  they  were  welcome. 

Chick  the  Cherub  shook  hands  with  every  one,  including 
Billina,  and  was  so  joyous  and  frank  and  full  of  good  spirits 
that  John  Dough's  Head  Booleywag  at  once  became  a  prime 
favorite. 

"Is  it  a  boy  or  a  girl*?"  whispered  Dorothy. 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 

"Goodness  me  I  what  a  queer  lot  of  people  you  are,"  ex- 
claimed the  rubber  bear,  looking  at  the  assembled  company. 

"So  're  you,"  said  Button-Bright,  gravely.  "Is  King 
Dough  good  to  eat?" 

"He  's  too  good  to  eat,"  laughed  Chick  the  Cherub. 

222 


Dorothy  Receives  the  Guests 

"I  hope  none  of  you  are  fond  of  gingerbread,"  said  the 
King,  rather  anxiously. 

"We  should  never  think  of  eating  our  visitors,  if  we 
were,"  declared  the  Scarecrow;  "so  please  do  not  worry,  for 
you  will  be  perfectly  safe  while  you  remain  in  Oz." 

"Why  do  they  call  you  Chick ^"  the  Yellow  Hen  asked  thf 
child. 

"Because  I  'm  an  Incubator  Baby,  and  never  had  any 
parents,"  replied  the  Head  Booleywag. 

"My  chicks  have  a  parent,  and  I  'm  it,"  said  Billina. 

"I  'm  glad  of  that,"  answered  the  Cherub,  "because 
they  '11  have  more  fun  worrying  you  than  if  they  were  brought 
up  in  an  Incubator.  The  Incubator  never  worries,  you 
know." 


441 


The     Road     to     Oz 

King  John  Dough  had  brought  for  Ozma's  birthday  pres- 
ent a  lovely  gingerbread  crown,  with  rows  of  small  pearls 
around  it  and  a  fine  big  pearl  in  each  of  its  five  points.  After 
this  had  been  received  by  Dorothy  with  proper  thanks  and 
placed  on  the  table  with  the  other  presents,  the  visitors  from 
Hiland  and  Loland  were  escorted  to  their  rooms  by  the  High 
Chamberlain. 

They  had  no  sooner  departed  than  the  band  before  the 
palace  began  to  play  again,  announcing  more  arrivals,  and 
as  these  were  doubtless  from  foreign  parts  the  High  Chamber- 
lain hurried  back  to  receive  them  in  his  m'  >st  official  manner. 


224 


FIRST  entered  a  band  of  Ryls  from  the  Happy  Valley,  all 

merry  little  sprites  like  fairy  elves.  A  dozen  crooked  Knooks 

followed  from  the  great  Forest  of  Burzee.     They  had  long 

whiskers  and  pointed  caps  and  curling  toes,  yet  were  no  taller 

than  Button-Bright' s  shoulder.    With  this  group  came  a  man 

so  easy  to  recognize  and  so  important  and  dearly  beloved 

throughout  the  known  world,  that  all  present  rose  to  their 

feet  and  bowed  their  heads  in  respectful  homage,  even  before 

the  High  Chamberlain  knelt  to  announce  his  name. 

"The  most  Mighty  and  Loyal  Friend  of  Children,  His 

Supreme  Highness  —  Santa  Claus !"  said  the  Chamberlain, 

in  an  awed  voice. 

225 


The     Road     to     Oz 

"Well,  well,  well  I  Glad  to  see  you  —  glad  to  meet  you 
all  I"  cried  Santa  Claus,  briskly,  as  he  trotted  up  the  long 
room. 

He  was  round  as  an  apple,  with  a  fresh  rosy  face,  laugh- 
ing eyes,  and  a  bushy  beard  as  white  as  snow.  A  red  cloak 
trimmed  with  beautiful  ermine  hung  from  his  shoulders  and 
upon  his  back  was  a  basket  filled  with  pretty  presents  for 
the  Princess  Ozma. 

"Hello,  Dorothy;  still  having  adventures?'  he  asked  in 
his  jolly  way,  as  he  took  the  girl's  hand  in  both  his  own. 

"How  did  you  know  my  name,  Santa?"  she  replied,  feel- 
ing more  shy  in  the  presence  of  this  immortal  saint  than  she 
ever  had  before  in  her  young  life. 

"Why,  don't  I  see  you  every  Christmas  Eve,  when  you  *re 
asleep?"  he  rejoined,  pinching  her  blushing  cheek. 

"Oh;  do  you?" 

"And  here 's  Button-Bright,  I  declare  I"  cried  Santa  Claus, 
holding  up  the  boy  to  kiss  him.  "What  a  long  way  from 
home  you  are ;  dear  me !" 

"Do  you  know  Button-Bright,  too?"  questioned  Doro- 
thy, eagerly. 

"Indeed  I  do.  I  've  visited  his  home  several  Christmas 
Eves." 

"And  do  you  know  his  father?"  asked  the  girl. 

"Certainly,  my  dear.    Who  else  do  you  suppose  brings 

226 


»fy 


MERRY  RYLS  AND  CROOKED  KNOOKS 


The     Road     to     Oz 

him  his  Christmas  neckties  and  stockings'?"  with  a  sly  wink  at 
the  Wizard. 

"Then  where  does  he  live'?    We're  just  crazy  to  know, 
'cause  Button-Bright's  lost/'  she  said. 

Santa  laughed  and  laid  his  finger  aside  of  his  nose  as  if 
thinking  what  to  reply.  He  leaned  over  and  whispered  some- 
thing in  the  Wizard's  ear,  at  which  the  Wizard  smiled  and 
nodded  as  if  he  understood. 

Now  Santa  Claus  spied  Polychrome,  and  trotted  over  to 
where  she  stood. 

"Seems  to  me  the  Rainbow's  Daughter  is  farther  from 
home  than  any  of  you,"  he  observed,  looking  at  the  pretty 
maiden  admiringly.  "I  '11  have  to  tell  your  father  where 
you  are,  Polly,  and  send  him  to  get  you." 

"Please  do,  dear  Santa  Claus,"  implored  the  little  maid, 
beseechingly. 

"But  just  now  we  must  all  have  a  jolly  good  time  at  Oz- 
ma's  party,"  said  the  old  gentlemen,  turning  to  put  his  pres- 
ents on  the  table  with  the  others  already  there.  "It  is  n't 
often  I  find  time  to  leave  my  castle,  as  you  know ;  but  Ozma 
invited  me  and  I  just  could  n't  help  coming  to  celebrate  the 
happy  occasion." 

"I  'm  so  glad !"  exclaimed  Dorothy. 

"These  are  my  Ryls,"  pointing  to  the  little  sprites  squat- 
ting around  him.     "Their  business  is  to  paint  the  colors  of 

228 


Important     Arrivals 

the  flowers  when  they  bud  and  bloom;  but  I  brought  the 
merry  fellows  along  to  see  Oz,  and  they  've  left  their  pafnt- 
pots  behind  them.  Also  I  brought  these  crooked  Knooks, 
whom  I  love.  My  dears,  the  Knooks  are  much  nicer  than  they 
look,  for  their  duty  is  to  water  and  care  for  the  young  trees  of 
the  forest,  and  they  do  their  work  faithfully  and  well.  It 's 
hard  work,  though,  and  it  makes  my  Knooks  crooked  and 
gnarled,  like  the  trees  themselves;  but  their  hearts  are  big 
and  kind,  as  are  the  hearts  of  all  who  do  good  in  our  beauti- 
ful world." 

"I  've  read  of  the  Ryls  and  Knooks,"  said  Dorothy,  look- 
ing upon  these  little  workers  with  interest. 

Santa  Claus  turned  to  talk  with  the  Scarecrow  and  the 
Tin  Woodman,  and  he  also  said  a  kind  word  to  the  shaggy 
man,  and  afterward  went  away  to  ride  the  Saw-horse  around 
the  Emerald  City.  "For,"  said  he,  "I  must  see  all  the  grand 
sights  while  I  am  here  and  have  the  chance,  and  Ozma  has 
promised  to  let  me  ride  the  Saw-Horse  because  I  'm  getting 
fat  and  short  of  breath." 

"Where  are  your  reindeer?"  asked  Polychrome. 

"I  left  them  at  home,  for  it  is  too  warm  for  them  in  this 
sunny  country,"  he  answered.  "They  're  used  to  winter 
weather  when  they  travel." 

In  a  flash  he  was  gone,  and  the  Ryls  and  Knooks  with 
bim;  but  they  could  all  hear  the  golden  hoofs  of  the  Saw- 

229 


The     Road     to     Oz 


Horse  ringing  on  the  marble  pavement  outside,  as  he  pranced 
away  with  his  noble  rider. 

Presently  the  band  played  again,  and  the  High  Chamber- 
lain announced : 


"Her  Gracious  Majesty,  the  Queen  of  Merry  land." 
They  looked  earnestly  to  discover  whom  this  queen  might 
be,  and  saw  advancing  up  the  room  an  exquisite  wax  doll, 
dressed  in  dainty  fluffs  and  ruffles  and  spangled  gown.  She 
was  almost  as  big  as  Button-Bright,  and  her  cheeks  and  mouth 
and  eyebrow  were  prettily  painted  in  delicate  colors.  Her 
blue  eyes  stared  a  bit,  being  of  glass,  yet  the  expression  upon 
her  Majesty's  face  was  quite  pleasant  and  decidedly  winning. 

230 


Important     Arrivals 

With  the  Queen  of  Merryland  were  four  wooden  soldiers, 
two  stalking  ahead  of  her  with  much  dignity  and  two  follow- 
ing behind,  like  a  royal  bodyguard.  The  soldiers  were 
painted  in  bright  colors  and  carried  wooden  guns,  and  after 
them  came  a  fat  little  man  who  attracted  attention  at  once, 
although  he  seemed  modest  and  retiring.  For  he  was  made 
of  candy,  and  carried  a  tin  sugar-sifter  filled  with  powdered 
sugar,  with  which  he  dusted  himself  frequently  so  that  he 
would  n't  stick  to  things  if  he  touched  them.  The  High 
Chamberlain  had  called  him  "The  Candy  Man  of  Merry- 
land,'"  and  Dorothy  saw  that  one  of  his  thumbs  looked  as 
if  it  had  been  bitten  off  by  some  who  was  fond  of  candy  and 
could  n't  resist  the  temptation. 

The  wax  doll  Queen  spoke  prettily  to  Dorothy  and  the 
others,  and  sent  her  loving  greetings  to  Ozma  before  she  re- 
tired to  the  rooms  prepared  for  her.  She  had  brought  a  birth- 
day present  wrapped  in  tissue  paper  and  tied  with  pink  and 
blue  ribbons,  and  one  of  the  wooden  soldiers  placed  it  on  the 
table  with  the  other  gifts.  But  the  Candy  Man  did  not  go 
to  his  room,  because  he  said  he  preferred  to  stay  and  talk  with 
the  Scarecrow  and  Tik-tok  and  the  Wizard  and  Tin  Wood- 
man, whom  he  declared  the  queerest  people  he  had  ever  met. 
Button-Bright  was  glad  the  Candy  Man  stayed  in  the 
Throne-room,  because  the  boy  thought  this  guest  smelled 
deliciously  of  wintergreen  and  maple  sugar. 

231 


The     Road     to     Oz 

The  Braided  Man  now  entered  the  room,  having  been 
fortunate  enough  to  receive  an  invitation  to  the  Princess  Oz- 
ma's  party.  He  was  from  a  cave  halfway  between  the  In- 
visible Valley  and  the  Country  of  the  Gargoyles,  and  his 
hair  and  whiskers  were  so  long  that  he  was  obliged  to  plait 
them  into  many  braids  that  hung  to  his  feet,  and  every  braid 
was  tied  with  a  bow  of  colored  ribbon. 

"I  've  brought  Princess  Ozma  a  box  of  flutters  for  her 
birthday,"  said  the  Braided  Man,  earnestly;  "and  I  hope  she 
will  like  them,  for  they  are  the  finest  quality  I  have  ever 
made.'* 

"I  *m  sure  she  will  be  greatly  pleased,"  said  Dorothy,  who 


**r 


Important     Arrivals 

remembered  the  Braided  Man  well;  and  the  Wizard  intro- 
duced the  guest  to  the  rest  of  the  company  and  made  him  sit 
down  in  a  chair  and  keep  quiet,  for,  if  allowed,  he  would  talk 
continually  about  his  flutters. 

The  band  then  played  a  welcome  to  another  set  of  guests, 
and  into  the  Throne-Room  swept  the  handsome  and  stately 
Queen  of  Ev.  Beside  her  was  young  King  Evardo,  and 
following  them  came  the  entire  royal  family  of  five  Princesses 
and  four  Princes  of  Ev.  The  Kingdom  of  Ev  lay  just  across 
the  Deadly  Desert  to  the  North  of  Oz,  and  once  Ozma  and 
her  people  had  rescued  the  Queen  of  Ev  and  her  ten  children 
from  the  Nome  King,  who  had  enslaved  them.  Dorothy  had 
been  present  on  this  adventure,  so  she  greeted  the  royal  fam- 
ily cordially;  and  all  the  visitors  were  delighted  to  meet  the 
little  Kansas  girl  again.  They  knew  Tik-tok  and  Billina, 
too,  and  the  Scarecrow  and  Tin  Woodman,  as  well  as  the 
Lion  and  Tiger;  so  there  was  a  joyful  reunion,  as  you  may 
imagine,  and  it  was  fully  an  hour  before  the  Queen  and  her 
train  retired  to  their  rooms.  Perhaps  they  would  not  have 
gone  then  had  not  the  band  begun  to  play  to  announce  new 
arrivals;  but  before  they  left  the  great  Throne-Room  King 
Evardo  added  to  Ozma's  birthday  presents  a  diadem  of  dia- 
monds set  in  radium. 

The  next  comer  proved  to  be  King  Renard  of  Foxville ; 
or  King  Dox,  as  he  preferred  to  be  called.    He  was  magnifi- 

233 


The     Road     to     Oz 

cently  dressed  in  a  new  feather  costume  and  wore  white  kid 
mittens  over  his  paws  and  a  flower  in  his  button-hole  and  had 
his  hair  parted  in  the  middle. 

King  Dox  thanked  Dorothy  fervently  for  getting  him 
the  invitation  to  come  to  Oz,  which  he  had  all  his  life  longed 
to  visit.  He  strutted  around  rather  absurdly  as  he  was  intro- 
duced to  all  the  famous  people  assembled  in  the  Throne- 
Room,  and  when  he  learned  that  Dorothy  was  a  Princess  of 
Oz  the  Fox  King  insisted  on  kneeling  at  her  feet  and  after- 
ward retired  backward  —  a  dangerous  thing  to  do,  as  he 
might  have  stubbed  his  paw  and  tumbled  over. 

No  sooner  was  he  gone  than  the  blasts  of  bugles  and  clat- 
ter of  drums  and  cymbals  announced  important  visitors,  and 
the  High  Chamberlain  assumed  his  most  dignified  tone  as 
he  threw  open  the  door  and  said  proudly: 

"Her  Sublime  and  Resplendent  Majesty,  Queen  Zixi  of 
Ix!  His  Serene  and  Tremendous  Majesty,  King  Bud  of 
Noland.    Her  Royal  Highness,  the  Princess  Fluif." 

That  three  such  high  and  mighty  royal  personages  should 
arrive  at  once  was  enough  to  make  Dorothy  and  her  compan- 
ions grow  solemn  and  assume  their  best  company  manners; 
but  when  the  exquisite  beauty  of  Queen  Zixi  met  their  eyes 
they  thought  they  had  never  beheld  anything  so  charming. 
Dorothy  decided  that  Zixi  must  be  about  sixteen  years  old, 
but  the  Wizard  whispered  to  her  that  this  wonderful  queen 

234 


w      >ic 


HER  MAJES'lVy-J  flUEEN  ZIXI  OF  IX 


The    Road    to    Oz 

had  lived  thousands  of  years,  but  knew  the  secret  of  remain- 
ing always  fresh  and  beautiful. 

King  Bud  of  Noland  and  his  dainty  fair-haired  sister, 
the  Princess  Fluff,  were  friends  of  Zixi,  as  their  kingdoms 
were  adjoining,  so  they  had  traveled  together  from  their  far- 
off  domains  to  do  honor  to  Ozma  of  Oz  on  the  occasion  of  her 
birthday.  They  brought  many  splendid  gifts;  so  the  table 
was  now  fairly  loaded  down  with  presents. 

Dorothy  and  Polly  loved  the  Princess  Fluff  the  moment 
they  saw  her,  and  little  King  Bud  was  so  frank  and  boyish 
that  Button-Bright  accepted  him  as  a  chum  at  once  and  did 
not  want  him  to  go  away.  But  it  was  after  noon  now,  and 
the  royal  guests  must  prepare  their  toilets  for  the  grand  ban- 
quet at  which  they  were  to  assemble  that  evening  to  meet  the 
reigning  Princess  of  this  Fairyland ;  so  Queen  Zixi  was  shown 
to  her  room  by  a  troop  of  maidens  led  by  Jellia  Jamb,  and 
Bud  and  Fluff  presently  withdrew  to  their  own  apartments. 

"My  I  what  a  big  party  Ozma  is  going  to  have,"  exclaimed 
Dorothy.  'T  guess  the  palace  will  be  chock  full,  Button- 
Bright;  don't  you  think  so?" 

"Don't  know,"  said  the  boy. 

"But  we  must  go  to  our  rooms,  pretty  soon,  to  dress  for 
the  banquet,"  continued  the  girl. 

"I  don't  have  to  dress,"  said  the  Candy  Man  from  Merry- 
land.    "All  I  need  do  is  to  dust  myself  with  fresh  sugar." 

236 


Important     Arrivals 


"Tik-tok  and  I  always  wear  the  same  suits  of  clothes," 
said  the  Tin  Woodman;  "and  so  does  our  friend  the  Scare- 
crow." 

"My  feathers  are  good  enough  for  any  occasion,"  cried 
Billina,  from  her  corner. 

"Then  I  shall  leave  you  four  to  welcome  any  new  guests 
that  come,"  said  Dorothy;  "for  Button-Bright  and  I  must 
look  our  very  best  at  Ozma's  banquet." 

^*Who  is  still  to  come'?"  asked  the  Scarecrow. 

"Well,  there  's  King  Kika-bray  of  Dunkiton,  and  Johnny 
Dooit,  and  the  Good  Witch  of  the  North.  But  Johnny  Doo- 
it  may  not  get  here  until  late,  he  's  so  very  busyo" 

^37 


The    Road     to    Oz 

"We  will  receive  them  and  give  them  a  Drooer  welcome,'* 
promised  the  Scarecrow.  "So  run  along,  little  Dorothy,  and 
get  yourself  dressed." 


mi' 


I  WISH  I  could  tell  you  how  fine  the  company  was  that 
assembled  that  evening  at  Ozma's  royal  banquet.  A  long 
table  was  spread  in  the  center  of  the  great  dining-hall  of  the 
palace  and  the  splendor  of  the  decorations  and  the  blaze  of 
lights  and  jewels  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  magnifi- 
cent sight  that  any  of  the  guests  had  ever  seen. 

The  j oiliest  person  present,  as  well  as  the  most  important, 
was  of  course,  old  Santa  Claus;  so  he  was  given  the  seat  of 
honor  at  one  end  of  the  table  while  at  the  other  end  sat  Prin- 
cess Ozma,  the  hostess. 

John  Dough,  Queen  Zixi,  King  Bud,  the  Queen  of  Ev  and 

239 


The     Road     to     Oz 

her  son  Evardo,  and  the  Queen  of  Merryland  had  golden 
thrones  to  sit  in,  while  the  others  were  supplied  with  beautiful 
chairs. 

At  the  upper  end  of  the  banquet  room  was  a  separate  table 


M 


provided  for  the  animals.  Toto  sat  at  one  end  of  this  table, 
with  a  bib  tied  around  his  neck  and  a  silver  platter  to  eat 
from.  At  the  other  end  was  placed  a  small  stand,  with  a 
low  rail  around  the  edge  of  it,  for  Billina  and  her  chicks.  The 
rail  kept  the  ten  little  Dorothys  from  falling  off  the  stand, 
while  the  Yellow  Hen  could  easily  reach  over  and  take  her 
food  from  her  tray  upon  the  table.    At  other  places  sat  the 

240 


The     Grand     Banquet 

Hungry  Tiger,  the  Cowardly  Lion,  the  Saw-Horse,  the  Rub- 
ber Bear,  the  Fox  King  and  the  Donkey  King;  they  made 
quite  a  company  of  animals. 

At  the  lower  end  of  the  great  room  was  another  table,  at 
which  sat  the  Ryls  and  Knooks  who  had  come  with  Santa 
Claus,  the  wooden  soldiers  who  had  come  with  the  Queen 
of  Merryland,  and  the  Hilanders  and  Lolanders  who  had 
come  with  John  Dough.  Here  were  also  seated  the  officers 
of  the  royal  palace  and  of  Ozma's  army. 

The  splendid  costumes  of  those  at  the  three  tables  made 
a  gorgeous  and  glittering  display  that  no  one  present  was 
ever  likely  to  forget;  perhaps  there  has  never  been  in  any 
part  of  the  world  at  any  time  another  assemblage  of  such 
wonderful  people  as  that  which  gathered  this  evening  to 
honor  the  birthday  of  the  Ruler  of  Oz. 

When  all  the  members  of  the  company  were  in  their 
places  an  orchestra  of  five  hundred  pieces,  in  a  balcony  over- 
looking the  banquet  room,  began  to  play  sweet  and  delight- 
ful music.  Then  a  door  draped  with  royal  green  opened,  and 
in  came  the  fair  and  girlish  Princess  Ozma,  who  now  greeted 
her  guests  in  person  for  the  first  time. 

As  she  stood  by  her  throne  at  the  head  of  the  banquet  table 
every  eye  was  turned  eagerly  upon  the  lovely  Princess,  who 
was  as  dignified  as  she  was  bewitching,  and  who  smiled  upon 

241 


The     Road     to     Oz 


all  her  old  and  new  friends  in  a  way  that  touched  their  hearts 
and  brought  an  answering  smile  to  every  face. 

Each  guest  had  been  served  with  a  crystal  goblet  filled 
with  lacasa,  which  is  a  sort  of  nectar  famous  in  Oz  and  nicer 
to  drink  than  soda-water  or  lemonade.  Santa  now  made 
a  pretty  speech  in  verse,  congratulating  Ozma  on  having  a 
birthday,  and  asking  every  one  present  to  drink  to  the  health 
and  happiness  of  their  dearly  beloved  hostess.  This  was 
done  with  great  enthusiasm  by  those  who  were  made  so  they 
could  drink  at  all,  and  those  who  could  not  drink  politely 
touched  the  rims  of  their  goblets  to  their  lips.  All  seated 
themselves  at  the  tables  and  the  servants  of  the  Princess  be- 
gan serving  the  feast. 

I  am  quite  sure  that  only  in  Fairyland  could  such  a  de- 
licious repast  be  prepared.  The  dishes  were  of  precious  met- 
als set  with  brilliant  jewels  and  the  good  things  to  eat  which 
were  placed  upon  them  were  countless  in  number  and  of  ex- 
quisite flavor.  Several  present,  such  as  the  Candy  Man,  the 
Rubber  Bear,  Tik-tok,  and  the  Scarecrow,  were  not  made  so 
they  could  eat,  and  the  Queen  of  Merryland  contented  her- 
self with  a  small  dish  of  sawdust;  but  these  enjoyed  the  pomp 
and  glitter  of  the  gorgeous  scene  as  much  as  did  those  who 
feasted. 

The  Woggle-Bug  read  his  "Ode  to  Ozma,"  which  was 

242 


DRINKING  THE  HEALTH  OF  PRINCESS  OZMA  OF  OZ 


2^'i 


The     Road     to     Oz 

written  in  very  good  rhythm  and  was  well  received  by  the 
company.  The  Wizard  added  to  the  entertainment  by  mak- 
ing a  big  pie  appear  before  Dorothy,  and  when  the  little  girl 
cut  the  pie  the  nine  tiny  piglets  leaped  out  of  it  and  danced 
around  the  table,  while  the  orchestra  played  a  merry  tune. 
This  amused  the  company  very  much,  but  they  were  even 
more  pleased  when  Polychrome,  whose  hunger  had  been  eas- 
ily satisfied,  rose  from  the  table  and  performed  her  graceful 
and  bewildering  Rainbow  Dance  for  them.  When  it  was  end- 
ed the  people  clapped  their  hands  and  the  animals  clapped 
their  paws,  while  Billina  cackled  and  the  Donkey  King 
brayed  approval. 

Johnny  Dooit  was  present,  and  of  course  he  proved  he 
could  do  wonders  in  the  way  of  eating,  as  well  as  in  every- 
thing else  that  he  undertook  to  do;  the  Tin  Woodman  sang 
a  love  song,  ever)^  one  joining  in  the  chorus;  and  the  wooden 
soldiers  from  Merryland  gave  an  exhibition  of  a  lightning 
drill  with  their  wooden  muskets;  the  Ryls  and  Knooks 
danced  the  Fairy  Circle ;  and  the  Rubber  Bear  bounced  him- 
self all  around  the  room.  There  was  laughter  and  merriment 
on  every  side,  and  everybody  was  having  a  royal  good  time. 
Button-Bright  was  so  excited  and  interested  that  he  paid 
little  attention  to  his  fine  dinner  and  a  great  deal  of  attention 
to  his  queer  companions ;  and  perhaps  he  was  wise  to  do  this, 
because  he  could  eat  at  any  other  time. 

^44 


The     Grand     Banquet 

The  feasting  and  merrymaking  continued  until  late  in 
the  evening,  when  they  separated  to  meet  again  the  next 
morning  and  take  part  in  the  birthday  celebration,  to  which 
this  royal  banquet  was  merely  the  introduction. 


H'> 


A  CLEAR,  perfect  day,  with  a  gentle  breeze  and  a  sunny 
sky,  greeted  Princess  Ozma  as  she  wakened  next  morning,  the 
anniversary  of  her  birth.  While  it  was  yet  early  all  the  city 
was  astir  and  crowds  of  people  came  from  all  parts  of  the 
Land  of  Oz  to  witness  the  festivities  in  honor  of  their  girl 
Ruler's  birthday. 

The  noted  visitors  from  foreign  countries,  who  had  all 
been  transported  to  the  Emerald  City  by  means  of  the  Magic 
Belt,  were  as  much  a  show  to  the  Ozites  as  were  their  own 
familiar  celebrities,  and  the  streets  leading  from  the  royal 
palace  to  the  jeweled  gates  were  thronged  with  men,  women, 

246 


The    Birthday   Celebration 

and  children  to  see  the  procession  as  it  passed  out  to  the  green 
fields  where  the  ceremonies  were  to  take  place. 
And  what  a  great  procession  it  was  I 

First  came  a  thousand  young  girls  —  the  prettiest  in  the 
land  —  dressed  in  white  muslin,  with  green  sashes  and  hair 
ribbons,  bearing  great  baskets  of  red  roses.  As  they  walked 
they  scattered  these  flowers  upon  the  marble  pavements,  so 
that  the  way  was  carpeted  thick  with  roses  for  the  procession 
to  walk  upon. 

Then  came  the  Rulers  of  the  four  Kingdoms  of  Oz;  the 
Emperor  of  the  Winkies,  the  Monarch  of  the  Munckins,  the 
King  of  the  Quadlings  and  the  Sovereign  of  the  Gillikins, 
each  wearing  a  long  chain  of  emeralds  around  his  neck  to 
show  that  he  was  a  vassal  of  the  Ruler  of  the  Emerald  City. 

Next  marched  the  Emerald  City  Cornet  Band,  clothed 
in  green-and-gold  uniforms  and  playing  the  "Ozma  Two- 
Step."  The  Royal  Army  of  Oz  followed,  consisting  of  twen- 
ty-seven officers,  from  the  Captain-General  down  to  the  Lieu- 
tenants. There  were  no  privates  in  Ozma's  Army  because 
soldiers  were  not  needed  to  fight  battles,  but  only  to  look 
important,  and  an  officer  always  looks  more  imposing  than 
a  private. 

While  the  people  cheered  and  waved  their  hats  and  hand- 
kerchiefs, there  came  walking  the  Royal  Princess  Ozma,  look- 
ing so  pretty  and  sweet  that  it  is  no  wonder  her  people  love 

247 


The     Road     to     Oz 

her  so  dearly.  She  had  decided  she  would  not  ride  in  her 
chariot  that  day,  as  she  preferred  to  walk  in  the  procession 
with  her  favored  subjects  and  her  guests.  Just  in  front  of 
her  trotted  the  living  Blue  Bear  Rug  owned  by  old  Dyna, 
which  wobbled  clumsily  on  its  four  feet  because  there  was 
nothing  but  the  skin  to  support  them,  with  a  stuffed  head 
at  one  end  and  a  stubby  tail  at  the  other.  But  whenever 
Ozma  paused  in  her  walk  the  Bear  Rug  would  flop  down  flat 
upon  the  ground  for  the  princess  to  stand  upon  until  she  re- 
sumed her  progress. 

Following  the  Princess  stalked  her  two  enormous  beasts, 
the  Cowardly  Lion  and  the  Hungry  Tiger,  and  even  if  the 
Army  had  not  been  there  these  two  would  have  been  power- 
ful enough  to  guard  their  mistress  from  any  harm. 

Next  marched  the  invited  guests,  who  were  loudly  cheered 
by  the  people  of  Oz  along  the  road,  and  were  therefore 
obliged  to  bow  to  right  and  left  almost  every  step  of  the  way. 
First  was  Santa  Claus,  who,  because  he  was  fat  and  not  used 
to  walking,  rode  the  wonderful  Saw-Horse.  The  merry  old 
gentleman  had  a  basket  of  small  toys  with  him,  and  he  tossed 
the  toys  one  by  one  to  the  children  as  he  passed  by.  His 
Ryls  and  Knooks  marched  close  behind  him. 

Queen  Zixi  of  Ix  came  after;  then  John  Dough  and  the 
Cherub,  with  the  rubber  bear  named  Para  Bruin  strutting  be- 
tween them  on  its  hind  legs;  then  the  Queen  of  Merryland, 

248 


The  Birthday  Celebration 


escorted  by  her  wooden  soldiers;  then  King  Bud  of  Noland 
and  his  sister,  the  Princess  Fluff;  then  the  Queen  of  Ev  and 
her  ten  royal  children ;  then  the  Braided  Man  and  the  Candy 
Man,  side  by  side;  then  King  Dox  of  Foxville  and  King 
Kik-a-bray  of  Dunkiton,  who  by  this  time  had  become  good 
friends ;  and  finally  Johnny  Dooit,  in  his  leather  apron,  smok- 
ing his  long  pipe. 

These  wonderful  personages  were  not  more  heartily 
cheered  by  the  people  than  were  those  who  followed  after 
them  in  the  procession.  Dorothy  was  a  general  favorite,  and 
she  walked  arm  in  arm  with  the  Scarecrow,  who  was  beloved 
by  all.    Then  came  Polychrome  and  Button-Bright,  and  the 

249 


The     Road     to     Oz 

people  loved  the  Rainbow's  pretty  Daughter  and  the  beauti- 
ful blue-eyed  boy  as  soon  as  they  saw  them.  The  shaggy 
man  in  his  shaggy  new  suit  attracted  much  attention  because 
he  was  such  a  novelty.  With  regular  steps  tramped  the  ma- 
chine-man Tik-tok,  and  there  was  more  cheering  when  the 
Wizard  of  Oz  followed  in  the  procession.  The  Woggle-Bug 
and  Jack  Pumpkinhead  were  next,  and  behind  them  Glinda 
the  Sorceress  and  the  Good  Witch  of  the  North.  Finally 
came  Billina,  with  her  brood  of  chickens  to  whom  she  clucked 
anxiously  to  keep  them  together  and  to  hasten  them  along  so 
they  would  not  delay  the  procession. 

Another  band  followed,  this  time  the  Tin  Band  of  the 
Emperor  of  the  Winkies,  playing  a  beautiful  march  called, 
"There 's  No  Plate  like  Tin."  Then  came  the  servants  of  the 
Royal  Palace,  in  a  long  line,  and  behind  them  all  the  people 
joined  the  procession  and  marched  away  through  the  emerald 
gates  and  out  upon  the  broad  green. 

Here  had  been  erected  a  splendid  pavilion,  with  a  grand- 
stand big  enough  to  seat  all  the  royal  party  and  those  who 
had  taken  part  in  the  procession.  Over  the  pavilion,  which 
was  of  green  silk  and  cloth  of  gold,  countless  banners  waved 
in  the  breeze.  Just  in  front  of  this,  and  connected  with  it  by 
a  runway,  had  been  built  a  broad  platform,  so  that  all  the 
spectators  could  see  plainly  the  entertainment  provided  for 
them. 

250 


The   Birthday    Celebration 

The  Wizard  now  became  Master  of  Ceremonies,  as  Ozma 
had  placed  the  conduct  of  the  performance  in  his  hands. 
After  the  people  had  all  congregated  about  the  platform  and 
the  royal  party  and  the  visitors  were  seated  in  the  grand- 
stand, the  Wizard  skillfully  performed  some  feats  of  jug- 
gling glass  balls  and  lighted  candles.  He  tossed  a  dozen  or 
so  of  them  high  in  the  air  and  caught  them  one  by  one  as  they 
came  down,  without  missing  any. 

Then  he  introduced  the  Scarecrow,  who  did  a  sword-swal- 
lowing act  that  aroused  much  interest.  After  this  the  Tin 
Woodman  gave  an  exhibition  of  Swinging  the  Axe,  which  he 
made  to  whirl  around  him  so  rapidly  that  the  eye  could  scarce- 
ly follow  the  motion  of  the  gleaming  blade.  Glinda  the  Sor- 
ceress then  stepped  upon  the  platform,  and  by  her  magic  made 
a  big  tree  grow  in  the  middle  of  the  space,  made  blossoms  ap- 
pear upon  the  tree,  and  made  the  blossoms  become  delicious 
fruit  called  tamornas ;  and  so  great  was  the  quantity  of  fruit 
thus  produced  that  when  the  servants  climbed  the  tree  and 
tossed  it  down  to  the  crowd,  there  was  enough  to  satisfy  every 
person  present. 

Para  Bruin,  the  rubber  bear,  climbed  to  a  limb  of  the  big 
tree,  rolled  himself  into  a  ball,  and  dropped  to  the  platform, 
whence  he  bounded  up  again  to  the  limb.  He  repeated  this 
bouncing  act  several  times,  to  the  great  delight  of  all  the 
chiMren  present.     After  he  had  finished,  and  bowed,  and 

2C1 


The     Road     to     Oz 


returned  to  his  seat,  Glinda  waved  her  wand  and  the  tree  dis- 
appeared; but  its  fruit  still  remained  to  be  eaten. 

The  Good  Witch  of  the  North  amused  the  people  by 
transforming  ten  stones  into  ten  birds,  the  ten  birds  into  ten 
lambs,  and  the  ten  lambs  into  ten  little  girls,  who  gave  a 
pretty  dance  and  were  then  transformed  into  ten  stones  again, 
just  as  they  were  in  the  beginning. 

Johnny  Dooit  next  came  on  the  platform  with  his  tool- 
chest,  and  in  a  few  minutes  built  a  great  flying  machine* 
then  put  his  chest  in  the  machine  and  the  whole  thing  flew 
away  together  —  Johnny  and  all  —  after  he  had  bid  good- 
bye to  those  present  and  thanked  the  Princess  for  her  hospi- 
tality. 


tsz 


The   Birthday   Celebration 

The  Wizard  then  announced  the  last  act  of  all,  which 
was  considered  really  wonderful.  He  had  invented  a  ma- 
chine to  blow  huge  soap-bubbles,  as  big  as  balloons,  and  this 
machine  was  hidden  under  the  platform  so  that  only  the  rim 
of  the  big  clay  pipe  to  produce  the  bubbles  showed  above  the 
flooring.  The  tank  of  soap-suds,  and  the  air-pumps  to  in- 
flate the  bubbles,  were  out  of  sight  beneath,  so  that  when  the 
bubbles  began  to  grow  upon  the  floor  of  the  platform  it  really 
seemed  like  magic  to  the  people  of  Oz,  who  knew  nothing 
about  even  the  common  soap-bubbles  that  our  children  blow 
with  a  penny  clay  pipe  and  a  basin  of  soap-and-water. 

The  Wizard  had  invented  another  thing.  Usually  soap- 
bubbles  are  frail  and  burst  easily,  lasting  only  a  few^  moments 
as  they  float  in  the  air;  but  the  Wizard  added  a  sort  of  glue  to 
his  soapsuds,  which  made  his  bubbles  tough;  and,  as  the  glue 
dried  rapidly  when  exposed  to  the  air,  the  Wizard's  bubbles 
were  strong  enough  to  float  for  hours  without  breaking. 

He  began  by  blowing  —  by  means  of  his  machinery  and 
air-pumps  —  several  large  bubbles  which  he  allowed  to  float 
upward  into  the  sky,  where  the  sunshine  fell  upon  them  and 
gave  them  iridescent  hues  that  were  most  beautiful.  This 
aroused  much  wonder  and  delight,  because  it  was  a  new 
amusement  to  every  one  present  —  except  perhaps  Doro- 
thy and  Button-Bright,  and  even  they  had  never  seen  such 
big,  strong  bubbles  before. 

253 


THE  WIZARD  BLEW  A  BUBBLE  AROUND  SANTA  CLAUS 


«54 


The    Birthday     Celebration 

The  Wizard  then  blew  a  bunch  of  small  bubbles  and  after- 
ward blew  a  big  bubble  around  them  so  they  were  left  in  the 
center  of  it ;  then  he  allowed  the  whole  mass  of  pretty  globes 
to  float  into  the  air  and  disappear  in  the  far  distant  sky^ 

"That  is  really  fine  I"  declared  Santa  Claus,  who  loved 
toys  and  pretty  things.  "1  think,  Mr.  Wizard,  I  shall  have 
you  blow  a  bubble  around  me;  then  I  can  float  away  home 
and  see  the  country  spread  out  beneath  me  as  I  travel.  There 
is  n't  a  spot  on  earth  that  I  have  n't  visited,  but  I  usually  go 
in  the  night-time,  riding  behind  my  swift  reindeer.  Here  is  a 
good  chance  to  observe  the  country  by  daylight,  while  I  am 
riding  slowly  and  at  my  ease." 

"Do  you  think  you  will  be  able  to  euide  the  bubble  1" 
asked  the  Wizard. 

"Oh  yes;  I  know  enough  magic  to  do  that,"  replied  Santa 
Claus.  "You  blow  the  bubble,  with  me  inside  of  it,  and  I  '11 
be  sure  to  get  home  in  safety." 

"Please  send  me  home  in  a  bubble,  tool"  begged  the 
Queen  of  Merryland. 

"Very  well,  madam;   you   shall   try   the  journey   first," 
politely  answered  old  Santao 

The  pretty  wax  doll  bade  good-bye  to  the  Princess  Ozma 
and  the  others,  and  stood  on  the  platform  while  the  Wizard 
blew  a  big  soap-bubble  around  her.  When  completed  he  al- 
lowed the  bubble  to  float  slowly  upward,  and  there  could  be 

25'5 


The     Road     to     Oz 

seen  the  little  Queen  of  Merryland  standing  in  the  middle  of 
it  and  blowing  kisses  from  her  fingers  to  those  below.  The 
bubble  took  a  southerly  direction,  quickly  floating  out  of 
sight. 

"That 's  a  very  nice  way  to  travel,"  said  Princess  Fluff. 
"I  'd  like  to  go  home  in  a  bubble,  too." 

So  the  Wizard  blew  a  big  bubble  around  Princess  Fluff, 
and  another  around  King  Bud,  her  brother,  and  a  third  one 
around  Queen  Zixi;  and  soon  these  three  bubbles  had 
mounted  into  the  sky  and  were  floating  off  in  a  group  in  the 
direction  of  the  kingdom  of  Noland. 

The  success  of  these  ventures  induced  the  other  guests 
from  foreign  lands  to  undertake  bubble  journeys,  also;  so 
the  Wizard  put  them  one  by  one  inside  his  bubbles,  and  Santa 
Claus  directed  the  way  they  should  go,  because  he  knew  ex- 
actly where  everybody  lived. 

Finally  Button-Bright  said  : 

"I  want  to  go  home,  too." 

"Why,  so  you  shall  I"  cried  Santa;  "for  I  'm  sure  your 
father  and  mother  will  be  glad  to  see  you  again.  Mr.  Wiz- 
ard, please  blow  a  big,  fine  bubble  for  Button-Bright  to  ride 
in,  and  I  '11  agree  to  send  him  home  to  his  family  as  safe  as 
safe  can  be." 

"I  'm  sorry,"  said  Dorothy  with  a  sigh,  for  she  was  fond 
of  her  little  comrade;  "but  p'raps  it 's  best  for  Button-Bright 

256 


The    Birthday    Celebration 

to  get  home;  'cause  his  folks  must  be  worrying  just  dread* 
ful." 

She  kissed  the  boy,  and  Ozma  kissed  him,  too,  and  all  the 
others  waved  their  hands  and  said  good-bye  and  wished  him 
a  pleasant  journey. 

''Are  you  glad  to  leave  us,  dear?"  asked  Dorothy,  a  little 
wistfully. 

"Don't  know,"  said  Button-Bright. 
He    sat  down    cross-legged    on    the   platform,    with   his 
sailor  hat  tipped  back  on  his  head,  and  the  Wizard  blew  a 
beautiful  bubble  all  around  him. 

A  minute  later  it  had  mounted  into  the  sky,  sailing  to- 
ward the  west,  and  the  last  they  saw  of  Button-Bright  he  was 
still  sitting  in  the  middle  of  the  shining  globe  and  waving 
his  sailor-hat  at  those  below. 

"Will  you  ride  in  a  bubble,  or  shall  I  send  you  and  Toto 
home  by  means  of  the  Magic  Belt?"  the  Princess  asked  Doro- 
thy. 

"Guess  I  '11  use  the  Belt,"  replied  the  little  girl.  "I  'm 
sort  of  'fraid  of  those  bubbles." 

"Bow-wow!"  said  Toto,  approvingly.  He  loved  to  bark 
at  the  bubbles  as  they  sailed  away,  but  he  did  n't  care  to  ride 
in  one. 

Santa  Claus  decided  to  go  next.  He  thanked  Ozma  for 
her  hospitality  and  wished  her  many  happy  returns  of  the 

257 


The     Road     to     Oz 

day.  Then  the  Wizard  blew  a  bubble  around  his  chubby  lit- 
tle body  and  smaller  bubbles  around  each  of  his  Ryls  and 
Knooks. 

As  the  kind  and  generous  friend  of  children  mounted  into 
the  air  the  people  all  cheered  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  for 
they  loved  Santa  Claus  dearly;  and  the  little  man  heard  them 
through  the  walls  of  the  bubble  and  waved  his  hands  in  re- 
turn as  he  smiled  down  upon  them.  The  band  played  bravely 
while  every  one  watched  the  bubble  until  it  was  completely 
out  of  sight. 

"How  'bout  you,  Polly?"  Dorothy  asked  her  friend.  "Are 
you  'fraid  of  bubbles,  too?" 

"No,"  answered  Polychrome,  smiling;  "but  Santa  Claus 
promised  to  speak  to  my  father  as  he  passed  through  the  sky. 
So  perhaps  I  shall  get  home  an  easier  way." 

Indeed,  the  little  maid  had  scarcely  made  this  speech 
when  a  sudden  radiance  filled  the  air,  and  while  the  people 
looked  on  in  wonder  the  end  of  a  gorgeous  rainbow  slowly 
settled  down  upon  the  platform. 

With  a  glad  cry  the  Rainbow's  Daughter  sprang  from 
her  seat  and  danced  along  the  curve  of  the  bow,  mounting 
gradually  upward,  while  the  folds  of  her  gauzy  gown  whirled 
and  floated  around  her  like  a  cloud  and  blended  with  the  col- 
ors of  the  rainbow  itself. 

"Good-bye,  Ozmal   Good-bye,  Dorothy!"  cried  a  voice 

258 


-GOOD-BYE,  OZMAI  GOOD-BYE,  DOROTHY  I' 


*S9 


The     Road     to     Oz 

they  knew  belonged  to  Polychrome ;  but  now  the  little  maid- 
en's form  had  melted  wholly  into  the  rainbow,  and  their  eyes 
could  no  longer  see  her. 

Suddenly  the  end  of  the  rainbow  lifted  and  its  colors 
slowly  faded  like  mist  before  a  breeze.  Dorothy  sighed 
deeply  and  turned  to  Ozma. 

"I  'm  sorry  to  lose  Polly,"  she  said;  "but  I  guess  she  's  bet- 
ter off  with  her  father;  'cause  even  the  Land  of  Oz  could  n't 
be  like  home  to  a  cloud  fairy." 

"No,  indeed,"  replied  the  Princess;  "but  it  has  been  de- 
lightful for  us  to  know  Polychrome  for  a  little  while,  and 
i — who  knows?  —  perhaps  we  may  meet  the  Rainbow's 
daughter  again,  some  day." 

The  entertainment  being  now  ended,  all  left  the  pavilion 
and  formed  their  gay  procession  back  to  the  Emerald  City 
again.  Of  Dorothy's  recent  traveling  companions  only  Toto 
and  the  shaggy  man  remained,  and  Ozma  had  decided  to  al- 
low the  latter  to  live  in  Oz  for  a  time,  at  least.  If  he  proved 
honest  and  true  she  promised  to  let  him  live  there  always,  and 
the  shaggy  man  was  anxious  to  earn  this  reward. 

They  had  a  nice  quiet  dinner  together  and  passed  a  pleas- 
ant evening  with  the  Scarecrow,  the  Tin  Woodman,  Tik-tok, 
and  the  Yellow  Hen  for  company. 

When  Dorothy  bade  them  good-night  she  kissed  them  all 
good-bye  at  the  same  time.    For  Ozma  had  agreed  that  while 

260 


The    Birthday   Celebration 


Dorothy  slept  she  and  Toto  should  be  transported  by  means 
of  the  Magic  Belt  to  her  own  little  bed  in  the  Kansas  farm- 
house and  the  little  girl  laughed  as  she  thought  how  aston- 
ished Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  would  be  when  she  came 
down  to  breakfast  with  them  next  morning. 

Quite  content  to  have  had  so  pleasant  an  adventure,  and 
a  little  tired  by  all  the  day's  busy  scences,  Dorothy  clasped 
Toto  in  her  arms  and  lay  down  upon  the  pretty  white  bed  in 
her  room  in  Ozma's  royal  palace. 
Presently  she  was  sound  asleep. 


// 


ROLAW 


261 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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